I spoke to Sheffield-based painter Ryan Mosley in his new show ‘Heavy is the Mountain’ at Josh Lilley: twenty-odd works full of figures hinting, in the gallery’s words, ‘at an enigmatic yet beguiling narrative continuum that extends from one painting to the next’. They feature an ornate cast of characters such as troubadours, cowboys, mountaineers and grape pickers ‘manifested in lively scenes that conjure a sense of curious familiarity and deep empathy’.
PCK: How should your name be pronounced?
RM: I used to follow my grandparents and parents, who always insisted on ‘Moss-lee’, perhaps to avoid any association with Oswald Moseley, spelt with two ‘e’s. But it’s quite a common name locally, and my kids’ teachers and friends, and their friends’ parents, all say ‘Moze-lee’, and I’ve started to think ‘can they all be wrong?’. So, maybe it’s Moze-lee.
What are the new developments in this show?
Since 2006 I’ve been making paintings that focus on the three-quarter length figure, but without much consideration for where they were – I’ve restrained myself from painting too much iconography or architecture or geography. Now I’ve started to make them feel more rooted, and included landscapes with smaller figures. And I’ve made the paintings warmer – for years I used a kind of bone colour background, now there might be more of a hint of, say, Gaugin in Tahiti.
Western Hills, 2025 – Oil on canvas, 153 x 183 cm
‘Western Hills’ seems a good illustration of those changes. Can you tell me about that?
I’ve always tried to present something that is a living experience, and to set up the questions of who these characters are, where are they from, what are they about? This is like watching a Western on TV with your grandad. Trees came and went over the course of the painting, and as a result they have an off-centre quality that I like that. Thinking about how to suggest a simplified version of pine needles, I got interested in a swirling application of paint that spilled out into the whole mountain range and the sky. It started feeling heavy, and – though it started out as a summer painting – I decided to add snow. The mountain range is a potential destination for the man. Originally I had two figures, but wanted it more isolated, a bit Casper David Friedrich, but not too much so. A man and his dog felt like the right balance, and I added the huts to suggest a community. The temperature is warm – I changed the sky from a blue that felt too cold. The trees are all under pressure, and even the man is somewhat slumped.
Jubilee Field, 2025 – Oil on canvas, 183 x 153 cm
Plenty changed as you made ‘Western Hills’, then. Do you normally start with a clear idea of what each painting will be like?
Not at all…. If I had a sketch designated for each painting, they wouldn’t end up looking like it. In ‘Jubilee Field’, for example, the figure on the horse was originally the other way around, but it felt too much like an equestrian portrait. The back end of the horse reminds me of the pantomime. It’s based on a drawing of a shire horse, very different from a racing horse. Now the figure suggests Don Quixote. And originally there was a guitar in there… Sometimes part of the subject gets removed and something else comes in just to balance it out, and that placement can be as important as the subject matter. ‘Jubilee Field’ suggests there’s just been a celebration… Or maybe the caravan could be called ‘Jubilee’ – sometimes they have names like that painted on them – and it’s parked in a field.
The Midnight Hour, 2025 – Oil on canvas, 183 x 153 cm
‘The Midnight Hour’ is striking for the jaguar and some improbable anatomy?
It feels to me like an ongoing conversation with my paintings of the past three years, with a stage and something happening on it. I wanted an animal that would suggest a travelling circus, and the jaguar’s rosettes stared to spread onto the background, and then I thought the polka dot camouflage would balance things – originally the man was dressed in stripes. I wondered what the shadow inside the big cat would look like. You end up playing a guessing game, and that’s when it starts to get interesting. I also started playing games with the bars – is it a prison or a travelling caravan? I like there to be an ambiguity. You could never play a violin through the bars like that, nor could that happen with the legs, but I wanted to make that flat figure dance with the music. You start to make sense of the ridiculous. I like songs as titles – letting what I listen to in the studio feed in.
Grape Harvest, 2025 – Oil on canvas, 123 x 98 cm
What appeals to you about grapes?
I like a glass of wine, but it’s the ritual of the harvest… The motif of the grape has this connection to taste and music. And there’s something alchemical about turning grapes into wine, and you hope for the same from painting.
They’re rather smart for the task?
I guess they’re both manual workers, but they’re too well dressed to be doing that – the dresses feel more like ball gowns. I’m referencing Poussin’s Bacchanalian ‘The Triumph of Pan’ – art history has always impacted on my paintings.
Madame for Paint, 2025 – Oil on canvas, 53 x 43 cm
There’s only one portrait, ‘Madame for Paint’. Why is it in profile?
Over the years I’ve made numerous profile portraits. A full-face portrait feels more regal, more ruling class. And you wouldn’t have that sort of portrait out in the wild, like this one, it would be in an interior. You can read the profile as a monarch on a coin, but that more an image for the people. I have done frontal portraits, but when lots were on a wall at the same time, it started to feel quite claustrophobic, whereas profiles can look at each other. ‘Madame for Paint’ isn’t based on a particular person, but it has some of Whistler’s intimacy and also reminded me of Sargent’s portrait of Madame X, which has the best nose I know… She looks half asleep or in a moment of peace – I think this is the first portrait I’ve painted with eyes closed.
Finally, what are people surprised to learn about you?
Even though – at six foot five and weighing too much – I’m not built for speed, I really enjoy running. I had a lot of injuries last year – I should have started when I was younger and more agile. But that’s become my escape, and I do find it sharpens the brain in some way…
Top Photo: Ryan Mosley with ‘When the Day is Done’ and ‘Travelling Band’, 2025
Ryan Mosley: ‘Heavy is the Mountain’ runs 17 Jan – 22 Feb at Josh Lilley