My work is rooted in geology and landscape. I continue to be fascinated by the form and structure of both the natural environment, and the things that we build upon it. I’m interested geological wonders, changing landscape, natural disasters and climate change. Places I’ve lived and traveled, in particular the Northwest, often inform the work, however often the works are entirely imagined spaces, with elements of the real. I’m very interested in exploring the dramatic landscape of the west in my work and in person, from the mountains of the northwest interior to the desert landscapes of the Southwest.

I often work in series, with my Sound Cascade and Cascade paintings focusing on the Northwest while my series The Last Frontier is very much about the changing landscape of Alaska. My Fear of Volcanoes series explores my fascination with volcanoes and the power of mother nature . I was 3 when Mount St. Helens blew too young to remember the event but I visiting years later, finding pumice and seeing the mud-lines on the trees from the lahars. Marveling at the fallen trees and rusted out cars, the gray ash. It stuck with me, informing my interest in geology and how we live on this planet. We think we are in control, we are not. Nature constantly reminds us of our insignificance and when we ignore the world we live in, bad things happen. When painting I’m thinking about our shortsightedness when we develop the land and our exhausting of the natural resources of this planet. Not only on the small scale but as a metaphor for what may be in store for us.

Ryan Molenkamp’s latest work deals with landscape, geology and how we balance nature and development. He earned a BFA at WWU in 2001 before moving to Seattle. Molenkamp is represented by The Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene and by Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle. He has shown work at SAM Gallery, SOIL, MadArt Homes, Gallery4Culture, Kirkland Arts Center, the Whatcom Museum in Washington. He has also exhibited at the Portland Art Museum (OR), Launch LA (CA), Chucifritos Gallery (NY), Collar Works (NY), and Duplex Gallery (OR). Molenkamp was awarded a residency at Jentel, (WY) in 2012 and has been published in Art Ltd. Magazine, Seattle Magazine, Seattle Met Magazine, Poetry NW and City Arts Magazine. His work is part of several public and private collections, including the Microsoft Art Collection, Swedish Art Collection, Washington State Arts Commission, and the City of Seattle Art Collection. He resides in Seattle with his wife and daughter.