Artist of the Issue: Ryan Bai

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL

Ryan Bai ’26’s artistic career began in second grade, when, under his mother's encouragement, he first picked up a paintbrush and took up the canvas. However, what initially captured him was not only the art but also the material of oil paint. “I would scoop them up and just spread them all over my hands and face,” Bai recalled, noting in particular his enjoyment of the texture of paint, and the therapeutic quality it brought to him. “I think that’s why I fell in love with art,” he said, “because it’s something fun, that I can enjoy, that can help me relax.”

At Deerfield, Bai continued to develop his passion for visual art, enrolling in AP Drawing and Painting and Honors Studio Art, participating in the Drawing and Painting co-curricular, and serving as the Editor-in-Chief of Albany Road, Deerfield’s Literary and Arts Magazine. He spoke on how the Academy’s programs enabled him to treat art as a persistent commitment, particularly referencing the “Sustained Investigation” portfolio in the AP Drawing and Painting course. “It’s an amazing program because no one knows what they’re going to end up with,” he said, “but as they explore and create pieces one by one, eventually they will understand what they will develop, their own style, and their own thinking from that process.” For Bai, this structure helped him to expand his vision beyond individual works and consider how different pieces can “make a whole argument” and “speak to each other.”

Despite his appreciation for AP Drawing and Painting, Bai noted that his relationship with art had shifted as he moved into his senior year. “Tenth grade and eleventh grade, what I was thinking more about was how I could stretch what I do,” he said. “I always tried to do something I’d never done before, so I expanded on my vocabulary.” Now, in his senior spring, Bai said that he had returned to painting more for pleasure than for technical experimentation. Speaking on his current Honors Studio Art class, he explained that “the spring term is pretty much just free time, personal projects.”  He is now focused less on creating “revolutionary” art and dedicates more of his time to painting to “make [himself] happy and make people around [him] happy.” Bai is currently working on a painting of his advisory, modeled after Da Vinci’s Last Supper, which he views as a way to exercise “the vocabulary that [he] currently [has].”

Bai’s current perspective on art emerged in part from an earlier challenge, when he had to decide whether to pursue a specialized art school program or remain on a conventional academic path. After thorough consideration, he ultimately chose not to attend art school, a decision he momentarily regretted. Looking back, however, Bai explained that the choice helped him realize that art and academics did not have to be separate. “A great brain for the arts should also be a great brain for math and science,” he said, referencing moments when academics helped inform his art. In particular, he pointed to Altomorphism, a painting influenced by mathematical concepts, and to his recent sculpture, The Looook, inspired by the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. For Bai, the sculpture stands out as his favorite piece for its reflexive yet humorous nature. “If I do an art of you, but you’re also looking at me, then are you also doing an art of me, or am I doing an art of you?” he asked.

In Bai’s view, his passion for drawing never waned throughout his artistic career, as he continually sought out ways to continue painting. He recalled his time in middle school, when he pretended to sweep the floor in the art classrooms to listen to lectures. “The thing is, opportunities are all free if you’re just shameless enough,” he commented on the experience. At Deerfield, Bai received more direct support that allowed his passion to develop further. He credited Art Teachers Mercedes Taylor and Ellie Bicknell for “supporting me a lot along the journey…and guiding me along my entire Deerfield art career,” as well as former philosophy teacher Angel Abreu ’92, who influenced his thinking on the philosophy of art. Still, Bai stressed that guidance alone is not enough without commitment backed by enthusiasm. “I honestly think passion is the number one thing,” he said, referencing a motto he takes from his favorite artist, the Chinese oil painter Chen Danqing: “He said, ‘[censored]! I just love painting, you can’t stop me!’ and that’s the kind of spirit I bear in mind as I continue with art.” 

Though Bai said that he does not plan to pursue art professionally after Deerfield, he emphasized that painting will remain an important part of his “vision” and “mode of thinking”. Returning to the idea of enjoyment, Bai described art less as a profession, but rather, an ordinary yet meaningful part of his life. “For me, [creating art] is the same as playing video games,” he said. “It's the same as dancing around, the same as just eating food. It's pleasing to do, and that's why I do it.”