![In “The Only difference between you and me is that you were brought here by force” Cosbert indicates that, despite centuries of fantasies of progress toward equality and justice, the exploitation, subjugation, violence, and inequality Americans have inflicted upon the African Diaspora in the U.S. remain as central to the Black experience as they have ever been.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbety_Ryan_The-only-difference-between-you-and-me-is-you-were-brought-here-by-force_2021_-3-Ryan-Cosbert_web-806x800.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, The only difference between you and me is you were brought here by force, 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 72 x 72 inches.
![Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. In this painting I am referencing the Crown Chakra of the human body.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbety_Ryan_Mysticism_2021_4-Ryan-Cosbert_web-802x800.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Mysticism, 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 72 x 72 inches.
The topics explored in my work focuses on my personal biography, history, and an investigation into political issues. In addition to my interest in historical and social politics, I am invested in the black subjects across the African Diaspora (done by research conducted by myself). Within my abstract paintings, I create a sense of control using the grid format to apply the mixture of what I call “tiles” which creates a geometrical balance. I am often incorporating physical objects and colors that help enhance my paintings while also tying directly to the subject. My choice of objects derive directly from the research I conduct and help push the concept/story further by implementing it directly into the painting along with a significant color palette that often has meaning and tells a story on it’s own. With all of this I hope to reflect a kind of meditation on history that examines both the past and present and its political and social implications within the contemporary context.
![The Mayhem series references the constant mayhem, chaos, and murder that goes on in the inner city/black community. (from left to right) No. 1- Red, No. 2- White, and No. 3- Blue. Each canvas represents the colors of the police sirens in the United States while the bullet casings reference gun violence/police brutality.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Ryan_Murder_Mayhem-No.1No.2No.3_2021_2-Ryan-Cosbert_web-e1619723690129-900x317.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Murder_Mayhem No.1, No.2, No.3, 2021, 2021 ,2022.
Acrylic & bullet casings on canvas. 46 x 46 inches each.
![Red canvas represents one of the the police sirens colors in the United States while the bullet casings reference gun violence/police brutality.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Rya-_Murder-Mayhem-No.1_Closeup_2020_-5-Ryan-Cosbert_webjpg-copy-400x600.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Murder Mayhem No.1 (detail), 2021. Acrylic & bullet casings on canvas. 46 x 46 inches.
![White canvas represents one of the the police sirens colors in the United States while the bullet casings reference gun violence/police brutality.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Rya-_Murder-Mayhem-No.2_Closeup_2020_-5-Ryan-Cosbert_web-400x600.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Murder Mayhem No.2 (detail), 2020. Acrylic & bullet casings on canvas. 46 x 46 inches.
![Blue canvas represents one of the the police sirens colors in the United States while the bullet casings reference gun violence/police brutality.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Rya-_Murder-Mayhem-No.3_Closeup_2020_-5-Ryan-Cosbert_web-450x600.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Murder Mayhem No.3 (detail), 2021. Acrylic & bullet casings on canvas. 46 x 46 inches.
![“Ode to Harriet Elizabeth Brown” is an ode to Harriet Elizabeth Brown who was a Calvert County school teacher who pushed for equal pay, regardless of race, in Maryland education. With the help of NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, Brown brought suit against the Calvert County Board of Education in 1937.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Ryan_Ode-to-Harriet-Elizabeth-Brown_2021_6_web-690x800.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Ode to Harriet Elizabeth Brown, 2021. Acrylic on canvas.
60 x 52 inches.
![“Sublime NO.2” is a woven piece to show the grid aspect/times in another form while still experimenting with paint application by creating layers that appear to be flat that’s now made 3D with the woven technique inspired by African Wolof Baskets.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Ryan_Sublime_No.2_2020_-Ryan-Cosbert-web-621x800.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Sublime No.2, 2020. Acrylic on bristol boards.
19 x 24 inches.
![Abstract painting with shades of violet and yellow. it has spike shapes on the top half and a distorted grid of squares on the bottom](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Ryan_Ode_To_Claudette_Colvin_2021_1-Ryan-Cosbert-701x800.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Ode to Claudette Colvin, 2021. Acrylic & newspaper on canvas.
60 x 52 inches
![Researchers have found that people of the African Diaspora who are removed from slavery over a century, can still harbor such strong feelings/trauma due to epigenetics and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. When one experiences trauma, it changes their genes in a specific and noticeable way. This then affects when those people have children since their genes are being passed down, the children also inherit the genes affected by trauma.](https://bfafinearts.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/Cosbert_Ryant_Anguish-and-distress_2021_7-Ryan-Cosbert_webjpg-694x800.jpg)
Ryan Cosbert, Anguish and Distress, 2021. Acrylic on canvas.
60 X 52 Inches.