43 Artworks

I like being grounded in reality; a physical reality around me that I can interact with and touch, which I feel traditional photographic methods allow me, personally, to do better.

Ryan James MacFarland

About the Artist

Ryan-James-MacFarland

Ryan James MacFarland (b. 1985) creates photographs that address the intangible and transitory qualities of landscape. His images are born out of an overwhelming obsession with nature and its mechanics, notably Tide Study, a series capturing the moon above bodies of water before nightfall. MacFarland’s compositions are usually devoid of of human presence and are sometimes comprised of triptychs or pairings, or reproductions of the same image arranged in quadrants, forming a central diamond shape, suggesting the symmetry and patterns that exist in nature. His photographs reveal how he sees the natural world and attempt to break down the complex systems of nature to their base elements. MacFarland received a BFA in Photography & Imaging from New York University in 2006, and his work has been exhibited internationally.

News and Notables
  • Solo exhibition, Tide Study, Charles Bank Gallery, 2012

  • Exhibited at Phillips, 2017

  • Artist in Residence at Frontispiece, 2016