Ryan Foerster (born 1983) is a Canadian visual artist recognized for his ‘zines, photographs, videos, and sculptural installations which frequently incorporate found objects, salvaged materials, and natural elements. The artist’s reuse of discarded materials to create new artworks is a generative process of discovery and transformation integral to Foerster’s practice as well as a reaction to excessive waste.
Foerster’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. He is also the founder of RATSTAR press.
Early work
'Zines
Foerster started creating ‘zines while he was in high school. Using the copy machine at his father’s office, Foerster and his friends printed Dear Henry Wang, a ‘zine composed of “random writing, stuff [they] found in dumpsters, photos, jokes, and interviews with punk bands from around Toronto.” Issues were available in Toronto's cooperative-run store Who's Emma? where punk bands played in the basement. The ‘zine offered Foerster an opportunity to “get involved, voice ideas, and meet people” and provided Foerster's introduction to photography, as he photographed and interviewed many of the bands in the Toronto punk scene in the late 1990s.
Foerster moved to New York in 2005 to attend the International Center of Photography, but dropped out after three months. Traditional photographic processes were not of interest to Foerster who has stated, “Photography with insane production value really grossed me out. I didn’t want to need thousands of dollars to make art. It was more satisfying to make art out of nothing, out of things other people didn’t want.” However, a course Foerster took at the ICP on photography and sculpture taught by the artist Sam Samore did have an influence on Foerster's interest in mixing photography with “found-object books and sculptures.” In an interview with Bomb magazine Foerster notes, “The first shows I did in my apartment in Brooklyn were a mix of photos I took and sculptures I’d made from shit on the street. It’s funny that I’m basically doing the same thing ten years later.” In 2008 Foerster presented his photographs and sculpture in a solo exhibition at Swiss institute, New York, for which he also printed a ‘zine.
Early photographs
Foerster’s early photographs from this period are largely diaristic: observations from daily life, natural phenomena, and photos of his friends and travels. His images were featured in VICE magazine and on the artist Tim Barber’s website tinyvices, an online showcase for emerging photographers, as well as in an exhibition at White Columns, New York in 2007.
Val Kilmer
Between 2004-06 Foerster, along with others, graffitied the name ‘Val Kilmer’ and pasted a black-and-white image of the actor's head on buildings, doorways, and other locations in the streets of Toronto and New York. Speculation regarding the inspiration for the graffiti and its auteur was covered by the New York Post, Gawker, and other outlets in the U.S. and Canada. Foerster also made a ‘zine featuring the image.