Kristi Ryba - The Art and Science of Memory

Event Details

Opening with a reception during the French Quarter Art Gallery Association Artwalk on December 2nd from 5-8 pm, the show will run from December 1 - 30. The reception is open to the public. Corrigan Gallery is located at 62 Queen Street in downtown Charleston.

The materials used by Kristi Ryba demand a great deal of time and preparation. She is using gouache or egg tempera often on vellum with gold leaf and creating her own framing. Her subject matter requires much research, decision making and time spent with old family photographs as well as images of Medieval artwork. Studying the altarpiece predellas and illuminated manuscripts and infusing that manner of imagery with the photographs taken by Ryba’s father create the results seen in the show “The Art and Science of Memory.”

The photographs used are those that document Ryba’s childhood and family life. The artist questions, “Are these real memories or only memories of being told about these events while looking at the photographs?” This process of repeated, deep study of the images brings a fresh perspective and a new vision of the family of the 1950s. Religion, cultural messages, myths and iconography are combined with the imagery from the photographic collection to produce new works of art in the manner of the Medieval and Renaissance illuminations.

Ryba says, “I reconstruct a reality from a borrowed memory and combine personal memory with family history. It seems to me a special gift to use these photographs in this way. It is an honor to my parent’s memory and more importantly a way to examine and question the culture and ideals of that period of our collective history in which many of us were shaped.”

Exhibiting since 1990 in both solo and group shows, Ryba’s work has toured through the Southeast in painting and printmaking exhibitions. She has won various awards and scholarships including two South Carolina Arts Commission Project Grants. A magna cum laude graduate of the College of Charleston, Ryba also studied at Vermont Studio School and Studio Camnitzer in Valdotavvo, Lucca, Italy, and has her MFA from Union Institute and University, Vermont College in Montpelier, Vermont. A founding organizer of Print Studio South, Inc., Ryba served as president and on the Board of Directors, and has taught locally. Ryba was included in the 2002 Piccolo Spoleto exhibit, “Larger Than Life: A Second Story Show,” Contemporary Charleston 2004,” and in “Helping Hands: an artist's debut among friends,” in 2005. Ryba exhibited at Silo, in New York City specifically in the show entitled “Hibernation” which was featured in the New York Times and in the SoHo 20 Gallery show “Adam’s Rib, Eve’s Air in Her Hair.” Ryba’s paintings for her solo show of 2007, “Keeping House,” continued her theme of women’s work and home. This current exhibition continues the family theme.


In its seventh year, Corrigan Gallery is the culmination of 23 years of experience in the Charleston art market. Representing more than a dozen artists in an intimate space, the gallery presents a new show almost every month and invites visiting artists to join in. Other gallery artists include Manning Williams, Duke Hagerty, Lynne Riding, Sue Simons Wallace, Gordon Nicholson, John Moore, William Meisburger, Mary Walker, Lese Corrigan, Paul Mardikian and John Hull. These artists are locals.

A gallery of contemporary works exploring the depth and intellect behind the drive to create, Corrigan Gallery provides a depth to the historic city’s traditional bent.

Open six days a week and other times by appointment, the gallery can be viewed 24 hours a day at http://www.corrigangallery.com, contacted by phone at 843 722 9868 or by email at [email protected].