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San Francisco Chronicle
Ryan Wallace: LD50 at Romer Young Gallery
By Kimberly Chun Published 2:44 pm, Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Caption: Ryan Wallaces 2015 10-by-10-inch square Crostic sculptures, pictured from the side with his tile floor installation, are included in the solo show, Ryan Wallace: LD50, at Romer Young Gallery, through July 25. Credit: Romer Young Gallery

Consider this trash transformed. New York artist Ryan Wallace has scavenged construction materials, plaster, concrete, tape, tarp, vinyl and powdered metal to make new paintings, sculptures and a site-specific installation for his first solo exhibit at Romer Young Gallery, “Ryan Wallace: LD50.” The title acronym references a toxicologist’s term for the dose needed to kill half a test population, and here, the Rhode Island School of Design graduate takes his works right up to their eve of destruction, loading on the materials and marks to the point when everything falls apart. Amid the paintings of deeply layered, then redacted and sliced, materials are tower of debris, cubed and culled from the other artworks. Plexi tiles reveal unexpected junk in their guts. Welcome to his jungle.
— Kimberly Chun
Ryan Wallace: LD50: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and by appointment Tuesday-Wednesday. Through July 25. Romer Young Gallery, 1240 22nd St., S.F. (415) 550-7483. www.romeryounggallery.com.