Ryan Foerster

Ryan Foerster (born 1983) is a Canadian visual artist recognized for his ‘zines, photographs, videos, and sculptural installations which frequently incorporate found objects, salvaged materials, and natural elements. The artist’s reuse of discarded materials to create new artworks is a generative process of discovery and transformation integral to Foerster’s practice as well as a reaction to excessive waste.

Foerster’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. He is also the founder of RATSTAR press.

Early work

'Zines Foerster started creating ‘zines while he was in high school. Using the copy machine at his father’s office, Foerster and his friends printed Dear Henry Wang, a ‘zine composed of “random writing, stuff [they] found in dumpsters, photos, jokes, and interviews with punk bands from around Toronto.” Traditional photographic processes were not of interest to Foerster who has stated, “Photography with insane production value really grossed me out. I didn’t want to need thousands of dollars to make art. It was more satisfying to make art out of nothing, out of things other people didn’t want.” However, a course Foerster took at the ICP on photography and sculpture taught by the artist Sam Samore did have an influence on Foerster's interest in mixing photography with “found-object books and sculptures.”

Early photographs Foerster’s early photographs from this period are largely diaristic: observations from daily life, natural phenomena, and photos of his friends and travels. His images were featured in VICE magazine and on the artist Tim Barber’s website tinyvices, an online showcase for emerging photographers, as well as in an exhibition at White Columns, New York in 2007.

Val Kilmer Between 2004-06 Foerster, along with others, graffitied the name ‘Val Kilmer’ and pasted a black-and-white image of the actor's head on buildings, doorways, and other locations in the streets of Toronto and New York. Foerster also made a ‘zine featuring the image.

Later work

Alternative processes, photograms The artist Allen Frame suggested Foerster get a membership at the Camera Club of New York, the historic co-operative dark room whose past members include Alfred Stieglitz, Richard Avedon, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, and Berenice Abbott.

Found objects, sculptural assemblages, and installations During the 2008 financial crisis, when Foerster's day job assisting artists was tenuous and he had limited resources but more time, he would walk around his neighborhood observing and collecting. He notes,

"I would walk around a lot since I was in a weird transitional period, not photographing and feeling depressed. I would find stuff on these walks that I thought was interesting enough to bring home. I mostly picked up scrap metal and wood. I played with seeing these objects on my walls and adding the photos I had at home. It seemed right. It was closer to my actual train of thought and how I interacted with things...It all added different layers to how I understood seeing and remembering things." In his installations Foerster has incorporated mining slag residue from mines in Ontario, the salvaged ink-stained metal printing plates used to print his ‘zines, wooden benches he made with his grandfather, and sundry items the artist finds on the streets of New York or on the beach near his home in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

Foerster has noted he is particularly interested in the “in-between stage when something still exists but it no longer functions the way it was intended to." He has stated, "I think composting is a really good metaphor for my work—the entire cycle where old work generates new work—it’s the in-between stage where discarded food gets turned into a rich soil again to grow more food."

Exhibitions and awards Foerster's work has been exhibited at the Abrons Art Center, New York; Swiss Institute, New York; White Columns, New York; Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York; Pioneer Works, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Split; Columbus Museum of Art; Aspen Art Museum; and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto. Foerster's work was also included in “Rockaway!” organized by MOMA PS1, Rockaway Beach Surf Club, New York 2014. ‘Zines by Foerster were included in the Museum of Modern Art Library exhibition “Millennium Magazines”, 2012. Foerster's books and 'zines are in the collections of the New York Public Library, Yale University Library, and the Museum of Modern Art library.

In 2011 Foerster curated the exhibition “Harvest Moon” featuring works by his artist friends including Elaine Cameron-Weir, Erik Lindman, Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Jacob Kassay and others. Mirroring Foerster's own process of subjecting artworks to the elements, and his democratic approach to installing works in various media, Foerster placed the artworks in the backyard and other areas around his Brighton Beach home which was formerly owned by the artist Silvianna Goldsmith. He has also curated exhibitions at ribordy contemporary, Geneva 2014, and Martos Gallery, New York, 2014.

Foerster was the recipient of the Artadia NADA award in 2013 and received a Pollock Krasner foundation grant in 2012.

Personal life Ryan Foerster was born in 1983 in Newmarket Canada. He lives in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn New York.