Build High Painting

Mark Ryan is a South African born artist whom goes under the name Mantis and has been a steady contributor to the urban and contemporary art scene for over a decade.  In such time he has showed numerous times in group shows with some of the worlds leading galleries from Los Angeles, Miami, Australia, Bangkok, Berlin, Italy and through to his base in London. He has contributed to a book comprising of twenty of the worlds leading stencil artists and his work has appeared on album covers and music videos from Italian metal bands to Brit Mod God rocker Paul Weller. Mantis's work reflects mostly on the social issues that confront us in our daily city grind and although full of hope it rides and questions on the darker edge of the social conscience. He asks with his work that we enter into a new way of thinking  and that we play the game of life with heart, pushing forward collectively in a positive and constructive new direction.