Mending Shards: United Contemporary

United Contemporary presents Mending Shards, a solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Ryan Van Der Hout that explores the intricate relationship between brokenness and wholeness, intimacy and transformation. In this body of work, Van Der Hout begins with close-up photographs printed on glass—intimate images of himself or close friends that reveal often unseen details: pores, small hairs, and the landscape of skin. These photographs evoke a sense of intimacy akin to private moments, inviting deep personal examination.

The artist shatters each glass photograph with a hammer, initiating a meditative process of repair. This act of destruction serves not as an end, but as a ritual of rebirth. Through the meticulous reassembly of each fragment, Van Der Hout reconstructs the body into something new and strange, yet paradoxically more authentic. This process reflects the belief that growth often requires breaking down—both physically and metaphorically—to transform. Through this cycle of fracturing and reassembly, the work prompts viewers to reconsider the body as more than a seamless whole.

The medium of stained glass, which finds wholeness through fragmentation, is central to Mending Shards. This interplay between brokenness and unity challenges conventional understandings of bodily integrity, offering fresh perspectives on healing and transformation. Van Der Hout frequently incorporates clear glass, a material imbued with historical resonance; in the aftermath of wars or disasters, clear glass often replaced ornate stained glass in damaged buildings, symbolizing resilience. This connection to historical trauma, repair, and reinvention profoundly informs the artist’s exploration of both personal and collective healing.

In Mending Shards, each work occupies a space between wholeness and fragmentation, inviting viewers to reimagine these reconstructed bodies. Some compositions are densely layered, evoking an enclosed intimacy, while others create an open space for viewers to engage in the act of mental reconstruction.

Philosophical influences are woven throughout the exhibition. Inspired by queer theorist José Esteban Muñoz's concept of "queer becoming," the work embodies a state of ongoing transformation. Philosopher Byung-Chul Han's reflections on the cinematic close-up further inform the artist’s approach, imbuing every surface detail with an intense, almost erotic intimacy. The centerpiece, The Shattering, draws upon Kabbalistic creation myths, where divine vessels shatter, scattering shards across the universe. This narrative of cosmic brokenness echoes Van Der Hout’s process, emphasizing the task of mending and transforming fragments into a new wholeness.

Ryan Van Der Hout is an interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto and New York City whose practice spans photography, public art, and sculpture. They activate material processes to navigate states of being, such as grief, undoing, and queer becoming. Central to Van Der Hout's practice is the innovative use of photographic imagery as a foundational element in creating three-dimensional objects and installations, consistently using the photographic image as a scaffold to create objects that utilize the image as pure material.

Van Der Hout’s work has been widely featured in publications including The Huffington Post, Vogue Italia, Fortune Magazine, Larry’s List, CBC, PhotoEd Magazine and Reader’s Digest. He has exhibited across Canada, The United Kingdom, and New York, most notably in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Collectors Series, as part of a Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival primary exhibitions, and in The Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward festival. They have created public art for the City of Toronto, Toronto Archives, The TTC, Nuit Blanche and Pemberton Developments. Their work To Reflect Everything Will be on display in 2025 at Wahsington Square Park in New York City. Van Der Hout was awarded the Emerging Artist Award by the Robert McLaughlin Gallery and has been supported by the Ontario Arts Council. They have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Metropolitan University and an MFA in Fine Arts from Parsons at The New School.