I’ve already pointed out that Mark Ryden was one of my favorite contemporary artists, and I’m not alone. I have seen his work everywhere, including on many album covers. One of Ryden’s favorite subjects is the young girl, which he often paints or illustrates in the so-called baby doll style. In the introduction to this site I mentioned how a lot of artists—particularly those in the lowbrow movement—place nude and/or erotic children (girls especially) in a surreal, comedic or horrific context, or sometimes all three together, and Ryden is no exception. Dariusz Skitek, Andrew Polushkin, Trevor Brown, Dino Valls, Caitlin Karolczak, YummyKitty and Beth Moore-Love are all artists I’ve posted here who have followed this trend, but Ryden is, hands down, the king of it. Hell, he’s practically an artistic movement unto himself.

So, without further adieu . . .

I bet a lot of you didn’t know that Ryden did this memorable cover for Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album, huh?

Mark Ryden – Michael Jackson – Dangerous (cover)

Mark Ryden – Michael Jackson – Dangerous (cover) (detail)

Michael Jackson – The King of Pop (Official Site)

Wikipedia: Michael Jackson

Mark Ryden – Red Hot Chili Peppers – One Hot Minute (cover)

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Wikipedia: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Mark Ryden – Jack Off Jill – Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers (cover)

Jack Off Jill (Official Site)

Wikipedia: Jack Off Jill

Several of Ryden’s works show up on Scarling albums and posters:

Mark Ryden – Scarling – Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole (cover)

Mark Ryden – Scarling – So Long, Scarecrow (cover)

Mark Ryden – Scarling – Sweet Heart Dealer (cover)

Mark Ryden – Scarling – Curiosa Festival postcard

Scarling

Wikipedia: Scarling

Mark Ryden – Various Artists – Alright, This Time Just the Girls Vol. 1 (cover)

Mark Ryden – Various Artists – Their Sympathetic Majesties Request (cover)

Mark Ryden (Official Site)

Wikipedia: Mark Ryden

Comments:

From xavier raby on May 30, 2012
I am a big fan of Mark Ryden
My favorite is “goodbye bear”, so sad but so emotional
Currently I create a painting inspired by one of his paintings
it is not yet online
you can see my works here: http://xavierraby.com
facebook page link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/xavier-raby/188993831167757

From pipstarr72 on May 30, 2012
Nice work! Quite pleasantly creepy. The tree creatures sort of remind me of Nirvana’s Incesticide album cover, but I think my favorite is the Phacochoerus Zebra. Thanks for sharing!