LOCATE ARTS: CONNECTOR INTERVIEW with Ryder Richards
Locate Arts: What experiences compelled you to pursue contemporary art in your work and life?
Ryder Richards: I wish I could point at one moment, but it is more like an addiction that gradually invades every corner of your life. At one point a few drawings were enough, but now I look at everything and ask: “Is there art in this action? Can this thought become art?” It really becomes a weird way to interact with the world, to observe and create in a very considered way.
On a more biographical note, my mother is an artist, so I received a lot of encouragement to draw when I was young. After going to school I was hanging out with artists, and we were all naive enough to see the art world as a formula that we could crack with enough sweat and bravado. So, I blame my art habit on my family and friends.
LA: Whose work are you currently most interested in from the TN contemporary art scene (and why)?
RR: Virginia Overton. This may be an obvious choice when you see my work, but she had a show in Dallas a few years ago and her recent show at the Whitney was fantastic.