Closing Reception for Ryan Exhibit To Be Held September 19

A closing reception for Michael x. Ryan's exhibition, "On the Road at the Water's Edge," will be held at Old Dominion University's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. The exhibit closes the following day.

Ryan is a Chicago-based visual artist who creates drawings, mappings and wood reliefs that focus on patterns made or discovered during his travels. From the puddles left after a shower, the forgotten movements of a day's travel or random stains on a sidewalk to the remains of an impact crater hidden in layers of sediment, each work is mapped, diagrammed and documented to reveal its trace.

"On the Road at the Water's Edge" is an installation of works selected from four "mapping" series made over the last 13 years; it also includes two new projects.

Selections from previous works are: "shower puddle," water colors and painted wood reliefs; "Where did I travel within the city limits of Krems/Stein from 25/7/05 through 18/8/05?," ink drawing on tourist maps; "Where did I travel within the Chicago city limits from mid-February through early March in the years 1999-2000-2001?," graph, daily diagrams, limited edition book; and "Road Stains Wood Reliefs," painted wood reliefs.

The two new projects in the installation are: "A 20 foot line traced from a steel wire drawing following the water's edge from the Oxbow dock 20 feet north on Monday, July 7th 2008 at 10:30 am," a full-scale sand drawing, and another new work, "Hidden Layers; the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater," which is inspired by the work of scientists studying the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater.

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries are located in the University Village, 4509 Monarch Way. Admission is free. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 683-6271.