Ryan Murray

Springfield, MA

Through the unflinching medium of spray paint stenciling, I unearth and examine unsettling but important conversations about the stigma of mental illness, with the goal of normalizing the discussion and treatment of mental health in black communities. To examine Black mental health is to examine the effect of events in both the past and present, socioeconomic factors, how patterns of suffering repeat themselves, and the burden of certain societal expectations. By utilizing repeated symbolism and autobiographical elements, my work not only seeks to address the reality and the reasons that people of color suffer in silence more than their white counterparts, but urges me to navigate my own upbringing as an African-American struggling with mental illness and raised in a predominantly white community.

Ryan received his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014 and is currently located in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he does freelance graphic design and paints over used vinyl records.