Time is Hardcore

Ryan Travis Christian
June 7 - July 13, 2025

Time is Hardcore

In Time is Hardcore, Ryan Travis Christian explores time as a universal experience and the perverse as a universal language. Working in the gray in both theme and medium. The simplicity of the black and white and the cartoon-like characters is just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, you’ll find the scale of grays and a deeper, darker, compelling story. From his inner world, a cast of characters emerges: birds, cats, and personified clocks paint a picture of the broader human experience. Never straying from the taboo in subject matter, Christian’s works and titles are both confronting and filled with humor. Nostalgia and the contemporary converge with a vintage animation style and surreal narratives.

Ryan Travis Christian

B. 1983 lives and works in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Christian received his BFA from Northern Illinois University. He has exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, NC, USA; The Hole, NY, USA; Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA; Halsey McKay, East Hampton, NY, USA; and Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada. He has been included in group shows in London, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Hong Kong, New York, Baltimore, Dallas, and Los Angeles. His work has been written about in Frieze, Art ltd, Art Papers, New American Paintings, Daily Serving, Indy week, and the Associated Press. His works are in numerous private collections worldwide. In 2014, he was named by DAZED as one of the “top ten artists working with monochrome.” He has previously shown with Left Field Gallery in group shows, and he has contributed to the gallery program as a curator of various group shows. This is his first solo show with Left Field.