Mark Ryden (Medford, 1963) is one of the greatest representatives of the Lowbrow movement, along with his wife Marion Peck.

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Mark Ryden's style is based on surrealism and the depiction of popular themes that are loaded with cultural connotations. His work can also be classified as Surrealist Pop. It is distinguished by the depiction of characters that seem to be drawn from children's stories, in which there is a certain air of mystery or unease. Something disturbing comes into tension with the apparent image of childish innocence.

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Departing from a thorough control of the pictorial technique, his paintings move between the enigmatic and the kitsch. They are images of great beauty in which abundant pastel colors and angelic faces stain Ryden’s scenes with apparent innocence, but at the same time they reveal a psychological darkness that is initially less evident, leading to a reading that is slightly disturbing.

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Mark Ryden's works have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world such as the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, the Frye Museum of Art in Seattle, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art, to name a few. He has also participated in designing the entire costume in the Whipped Cream ballet based on Richard Strauss's Schlagobers.

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Rosie’s Tea Party, 2005
Oil on canvas

36 x 36 inches