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Surface Studies

Mar 5, 2019

07:30 PM - 08:30 PM

Art Building West, 116

141 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52246

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Grant Wood Fellow in printmaking Ryan Parker will discuss his work produced during his residency at University of Iowa. His printed works on fabric and paper are based on his research during a 2017-18 Fulbright Fellowship in India where he studied connections between ancient temple architecture and Indian block printing.

Parker grew up in Florida and received his MFA in printmaking from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Rome, Italy and Philadelphia. In his printed works on paper and fabric, Ryan uses architectural drawing and motifs to explore psychological space. With an interest in how architecture frames and impacts an individual's experience, his prints present towering walls, endless mazes, uninhabitable structures, and computer screens cluttered with open windows—scenes reflecting the familiar and unknown in navigating daily life. Also influenced by travel, he's participated in artist residencies at Frans Masereel Centrum (Belgium), Cork Printmakers (Ireland), and Ballinglen (Ireland). Recently, he was awarded a 2017–18 Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship, which took him to India. His research included studying ancient architecture as well as the traditional, sustainable production methods of India’s fabric arts—in particular, block printing, hand painting (kalamkari), and the use of natural pigments. In addition to his artistic practice, Ryan has been working as a museum educator at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, teaching textile design and screen printing in the Post-Graduate Apprenticeship.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact in advance at