Seán Ryan, born in 1963 in Morristown, NJ, currently resides in Brooklyn NY. 

A contemporary, naturalist painter and draftsman, he is known for his highly-detailed oil paintings on canvas. His œuvre focuses on scenes of uninhabited city and beach landscapes, views through windows from outside and inside, and the effects of sunlight's movement at different times of day on architecture and objects in empty and seemingly surreal landscapes. 

The artist invites the viewer to investigate, and then become the protagonist in, these environments, permitting them to confront the inner world of existence—in safety, and without judgment. The lone soul is the subject, and the feelings that arise reflect the brightest and darkest places of the lonely planet before sleep.

The character of Ryan's work explores the themes of isolation, abandonment, inner conflicts, neglect, and indifference in society and personal life. Recurring motifs include old and abandoned structures with walls of windows staring back at the viewer, empty winter beaches, lonely city streets, dramatic skies, raindrops on windows that distort color and shape.

Having begun painting in 2003, in 2024 Ryan ended his 32-year career in graphic design to focus solely on his art. He continues to explore the themes of existence by creating context for self-reflection, questioning meaning and purpose, and facilitating reconciliation with one's own passage into memory. The viewer becomes a ghost in what they see before them.