Good condition.
Signed in the center of the lower left on the front.

Renowned as the King of Pop Surrealism, Mark Ryden (1963-) is a leading American artist based in Portland, Oregan. After graduating from Art Centre College of Design in Pasedena in 1987, Ryden worked as a commercial artist and illustrator. During this period, Ryden created many album covers for celebrated musicians, including the iconic cover for Michael Jackson’s 1991 album Dangerous.

In 2016, Ryden began developing concepts for a ballet titled Whipped Cream. The ballet premiered in 2017 performed by the American Ballet Theatre in California. It was a revival of Richard Strauss’s (1864-1949) Schlagobers, which had originally premiered in Viena in 1924. This painting, Slivovitz, is one of the costume designs from this production. The plot of the ballet revolves around a young child in Vienna who overindulges in a Viennese pastry shop and begins to have surreal hallucinations where pastries and sweet treats come alive. Reviews of the ballet were positive, especially regarding Ryden’s creative vision. Ryden’s meticulous attention to detail creates a level of realism that enhances the contrast between plausibility and the surreal whimsey contained in the work. Like a fantasy author, Ryden’s work is often created in series that are representations of “other worlds”. This work demonstrates Ryden’s ability to create a fantastical world that is occupied by high imagination and dream-like wonder. Ryden’s work is often seen as a joyful antidote to the pressures of society.

“Mark Ryden: The Art of Whipped Cream”, May 20 - July 28, 2017, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York