Art, to Ryan Agnew, has its roots in play. The Columbus-based artist developed an interest in drawing and painting as a young child.
Now, he’s passing that interest on to his own toddler-aged sons and to a group of toddlers involved in programs with the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities (FCBDD).
“I think (art) was an early way for me to communicate, and it was … play that was encouraged by family members and the community around me,” Agnew says. “I’ve been watching some kids make stuff and setting up conditions for toddlers and preschoolers to play and make things. It’s always multidimensional seeing ourselves in young children, and it’s something I’m really grateful for right now.”
Agnew is one of four local artists chosen for the Ohio Art League’s Innocence: In a Sense, which pairs the artists with FCBDD teachers.
Together, they work with the children on art that focuses on the senses of touch, hearing, sight and movement. Agnew’s focus is on hearing.
The project culminates with an exhibition at the Ohio Art League gallery April 3-23.
“I’m working there alongside this great teacher who’s been there for 12 or 13 years and setting up conditions for these young children to play,” Agnew says. “I’m really humbled by this experience. It’s a great opportunity.”
Though this is his first time working with young children, Agnew has a long-standing history of teaching that began during his days as an undergraduate at the Maryland Institute College of Art, when he was a teaching assistant. He continued on as a TA while he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from The Ohio State University, and he is now an adjunct art teacher at Ohio Dominican University.
“There was an interest of mine in teaching, early on,” Agnew says. “I just always enjoyed teachers and what they had to offer.”
But his “first love” has always been drawing and painting. The majority of Agnew’s works are oil paintings – landscapes and still-lifes in loose, colorful strokes. Recently, he’s started looking for places near his home in Old North Columbus – where he lives with his partner,
Kae Denino, and sons Tree Daniel and Lake James – that he can return to and paint over and over again.
“Painting outdoors helps me meet my need for creativity, spontaneity and adventure,” Agnew says. “We had some snow recently, and I got out there in the snow and made a painting in the woods. Over the past year, I’ve kind of been on the hunt for places I might return to for studies. I’m interested in artists (such as) Monet, who returned to the dramatic rock formation along the coast of Normandy and painted the Manneporte. I’ve been looking for places that are like that in my own walk of life and I ended up making a lot of small outdoor studies in oil with color and forms that represent the natural landscape.”
When he’s not painting outside, Agnew works in itlookslikeitsopen, a shared studio space at 13 E. Tulane Rd. in Clintonville. “It’s kind of a home base that I sometimes use,” Agnew says.
The community aspect of co-working is what he loves about the studio. He’ll go to the group meditation sessions or sit and listen to bands that jam there. He also works in customer service at the Northside branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Agnew’s style and inspiration have evolved during the years that he’s lived in Columbus. He moved here in 2000 to study at OSU and was blindsided by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
“One of the questions that arose for me is how do we go on making in the midst of ‘unmaking,’” Agnew says. “(I was) returning to the studio environment and questioning what it is we’re doing here. I felt kind of broken during that time and wanted to seek ways to repair. My work has just continued to explore the vulnerable dimensions of the human condition.”
In the past, he incorporated objects into his work, such as items that might be found at a home improvement store. About five years ago, he explored America’s culture of energy consumption and ways to live more sustainably.
“I haven’t figured that out at all, entirely,” Agnew says.
An upcoming show at the Bexley Public Library in March and April will showcase some of Agnew’s more recent work, and potentially some of his students’ work as well.
In his current exploration of play, Agnew hopes to return to his roots as an artist – with the adult spin of how to find that joy of creation amidst suffering.
“One of my goals is to learn more about how to play, especially in the midst of challenges or difficulties because there’s a lot of that in the world, too. We all experience pain, and I suppose there’s a therapeutic dimension to art – making art or even looking at art and talking about it,” he says.
Lisa Aurand is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
