rya kihlstedt

Rya grew up in Pennsylvania, graduated from Skidmore College and moved to NYC for 10 years where she helped start the Seraphim Theater Company while also beginning her acting career in film and television. In 1998 Rya moved to Los Angeles, where she decided to take a break to start a family. She is still a working actress but for the last few years she has started to expand her creative life by focusing on her art as well. Rya has been working in her studio and making collages, silkscreening, and painting.

In her own words....
"I have always loved magazines. The touch of the glossy pages that feel so good under my fingers, the huge September issues, inches thick, different papers and inks that sometimes bleed, or rip perfectly straight… From Vogues, Ws and Playboy's from the '70's to the NY Times and Interview Magazines, I search for images that grab me, familiar and strange, images that when put in a different context take on an entirely new meaning.

In my collage work I am interested the masks we wear, the faces that we choose to show to the world, and the many more that we hide. Specifically as women, I am fascinated by the roles we play: daughters, sisters, mothers, lovers, caretakers, nurturers, advisors, crones… I am constantly amazed and fascinated by what women do, by their ability to transform. That is the recent focus of my collage work.

With my silkscreen and ink work, I am interested in color and vibrancy. I am drawn to bold often simple shapes and like to play with how they balance each other and how color can convey a feeling and depth both alone and layered.