Benched Painting

Ryan Murray, spray paint stencil artist and muralist, received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014 and currently resides in western Massachusetts. He is currently represented by Art for the Soul Gallery. Through his work Ryan unearths and examines 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. Ryan utilizes repeated symbolism and autobiographical elements in order to address the reality and the reasons that people of color suffer in silence more than their white counterparts. Some of these works incorporate elements from photos taken during childhood, while others are derived from collages made during the artist’s therapy sessions. Ryan is a recipient of grants from the Community Foundation of Western MA, Mass Cultural Council, and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. He has exhibited in numerous western MA locations, Pittsburgh PA, and even abroad in Florence, Italy.