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Mighty to Save

On the left side of the poster is the AANM logo at the top with the following text in black with the title in red: “Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba is proud to present MIGHTY TO SAVE a solo exhibition by Ryan Dyck. Mighty to Save is a series of portraits exploring the hero as subject. The body of work explores themes of power and rescue. Superheroes are known to save the day. But none compare to the ultimate and original hero and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus can perform miracles that surpass the abilities of heroes, real or imagined”. On the right side of the poster is a close up of a painting of Jesus on the cross. Jesus is well muscled in this depiction and has cuts with blood on his shoulders and head. Superimposed over the image at the bottom is the following text in white against a dark brown background: “Opening online on June 4, 2021 www.aanm.ca/online-exhibitions”

A solo exhibition by Ryan Dyck

To purchase any of the artwork please email Jenel Shaw at info@aanm.ca to make arrangements.

To see more about this exhibition including comments from the artist and his supporters please view the Facebook event page by clicking on the following button:

Mighty to Save Facebook event page

BIOGRAPHY | RYAN DYCK

As a quiet force for good in self-expression and breaking down stigma, Ryan Dyck will win you over with his unabashed honesty – drawing you in with his story and his art. Ryan is an inspiration to those who struggle with mental illness, having learned to say “Yes” to supporting himself and his passion for drawing and painting. His unique sense of humour is just one of the tools in his tool box that he uses to reach out to his community- cutting a swath of healing that opens up opportunities for us all. Ryan was exposed to art at a young age of 4. He received education in art throughout Middle School at John W. Gunn Middle School and continued his art studies in High School at Transcona Collegiate Institute. His first passion in art was drawing. He then picked up painting with acrylics in grade 11 and improved upon that art form from there on. After graduating from high school, Ryan took in a few attempts of Fine Art studies at the University of Manitoba, only to figure out that University was not the route for him. In 2011, Ryan was fortunate to be involved in an artist-in-residency program known as Artbeat Studio, a not-for-profit organization that promotes recovery in mental health through the production of art in a secure art studio. From then on, Ryan has been involved in multiple art exhibitions and continues to work on his art to this day.

ARTIST STATEMENT | Ryan Dyck

Mighty to Save is a series of portraits exploring the hero as subject. The body of work explores themes of power and rescue. Six Marvel superheroes including Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America portray action, strength and presence. Superheroes are known to save the day. But none compare to the ultimate and original hero and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He saves lives and souls now and into the afterlife through His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus can perform miracles that surpass the abilities of heroes, real or imagined. This juxtaposition is further accentuated by canvas size. For this series, the bigger the size, the bigger the hero.

MIGHTY TO SAVE

Acrylic painting of Jesus Christ on the cross. In this depiction, Jesus is very well muscled with olive coloured skin, dark brown hair and a full dark brown beard. He is wearing a loin cloth which you can just see at the bottom of the image. His hands are nailed to the cross and he has thorns which are pushed into his head to form a crown. There is blood flowing from his hands, his forehead and on cuts along his arms from being whipped before being nailed to the cross. The background is black.
Mighty to Save, 2021, Acrylic Paint,, 48 inches by 24 inches, $650.00
Image Description: Acrylic painting of the Incredible Hulk. In this depiction the view of the Hulk is from around the bottom of his rib cage up. The Hulk is heavily muscled and his right hand is clenched in a fist and his face looks angry with his mouth open in a grimace, baring his teeth, and his eyebrows furrowed together. The Hulk is male and has green skin, black hair and white eyes. The background of the image is shades of purple with flecks of green.
The Incredible Hulk, 2020, Acrylic Paint, 16 inches by 12 inches, $285.00
Image Description: Acrylic painting of Iron Man. Iron Man is a male super hero who wears a full-bodied metal mechanical suit that allows him to fly and shoot energy beams. The suit is gold, red, silver and grey. In this depiction Iron Man is seen from the waist up facing to his left. He has his left hand forward and is shooting an energy beam. The background is streaks of grey, white, black and blue.
Iron Man, 2020, Acrylic Paint, 16 inches by 12 inches, $325.00
Image Description: Acrylic painting of Hawkeye. Hawkeye is a male superhero with white skin and blonde hair. This depiction is a headshot of Hawkeye. He is wearing black rimmed glasses tinted purple, a blue headband with a purple “H”, and his shirt is black with a purple arrow pointing down on his shirt. In this depiction, Hawkeye also carries a quiver using a gold-colored harness with multi-coloured arrows. The background goes from light purple to dark purple and there is a light blue bull’s-eye in the upper right corner of the painting. This painting is expressed using the abstract realism expression.
Hawkeye, 2021, Acrylic Paint, 12 inches by 16 inches, $285.00
Image Description: Acrylic painting of Captain America. Captain America is a white male super hero. In this depiction he is seen from the waist up. He is wearing a tight body suit that is blue with white stripes and a star. Captain America is wearing a tight head cap with eyeholes that is blue and white with a white “A” on the forehead. He is also wearing gloves, a utility belt, and shoulder straps and is holding his shield that is alternating rings of red and white with a blue circle with a white star in the middle. The background of the painting is black.
Captain America, 2021, Acrylic Paint, 16 inches by 12 inches, $295.00
Image Description: Acrylic painting of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. In this depiction, Thor is on the left -hand side of the image seen from the waist up. For this painting, the artist decided to use the expression known as abstract realism, which is a combination of realism and abstract painting. In an effort to do so, he depicted Thor’s face using light blue with multi-coloured armor and a yellow and white cape. Here, Thor’s famous hammer is coloured blue and red and his hair is long and coloured silver and red. He also has a beard and mustache. The background is white, black, silver, gold and bronze and looks like all the colours are radiating from the hammer to represent the power he has to conjure up lightning and thunder.
Thor, 2021, Acrylic Paint, 16 inches by 12 inches, $325.00
Image Description: Acrylic painting of Black Widow from about the belly button up. In this abstract realism depiction, Black Widow has purple, pink and white hair, green skin, blue eyes, and red lips. She is wearing a body-hugging suit that is bronze, white, black, silver, and gold and also has blue pin stripes. The background of the painting goes from light orange in the upper left side to dark red in the bottom right corner.
Black Widow, 2021, Acrylic Paint, 12 inches by 16 inches, $325.00

11 Comments

  2. Judith McDaniel

    Ryan you are so talented. Thank you for inviting me to your viewing. I appreciate your artist statement as it helped me with context and understanding. Great theme!

  3. Judith McDaniel

    Ryan you are so talented. Thank you for inviting me to your viewing. I appreciated your artist statement as it helped me with context and understanding. Great theme!

  5. Rae Harwood

    So well done, Ryan! I loved your work AND your artist statement! You are a courageous young man, and I am blessed to know you.

  7. Rod Dyck

    Hey Ryan! Great job on all these paintings! You’ve spent a lot of time on them. I’m very proud of you!!

  9. Cindy Dyson

    Well done!
    Your choice of colour for each piece is effective. You have skillfully manipulated the negative space to create a strong and balanced composition Good work sticking with a theme and presenting all pieces into a cohesive show.
    Congratulations 👏

  10. Samantha Dyck

    Great work Ryan! I think you’re very skilled in your use of texture and balance! I like that I can tell right away that they’re yours – you definitely have a signature style! I can see you’ve been working hard as an artist and really growing your gift and skill!

  11. Felicia

    For me , the strong sharp colours indicate might. Yet each has its own feel to it.
    Thanks for the viewing!

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