Ryan Thomas Monahan

Fragment #2 What The Hell Original Mixed Media Painting by Ryan Thomas Monahan One of a Kind Artwork on Wood Panel Affixed to Frame 3D Street Art Pop Artist. 2022 Signed 3D Stacked Mixed Media New York NYC Street Manhole Scene Painting Original Artwork Size 11.25x9.25 Framed Fragment #2: What The Hell by Ryan Thomas Monahan – Urban Memory as Sculpture in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork Fragment #2: What The Hell is a 2022 original mixed media work by American artist Ryan Thomas Monahan, created on a wood panel and presented in a framed 11.25 x 9.25 inch format. This one-of-a-kind piece captures a hyperrealistic street-level view of New York City, complete with a sculpted manhole cover, bits of food debris, torn signage, and a crushed takeout container rendered in painstaking detail. It is a physical fragment of the imagined street, an emotional terrain frozen in time. The textures are layered through 3D stacking and sculptural techniques, forming a tactile diorama of a forgotten sidewalk scene. Signed by the artist, the work is part of Monahan’s larger practice of constructing micro-environments that reflect on consumer culture, ephemerality, and the language of urban decay. Miniature Realism and Emotional Debris Ryan Thomas Monahan’s artistry is rooted in the act of remembering—through objects, through trash, through surfaces that most people overlook. In Fragment #2: What The Hell, Monahan builds a narrative through placement, imperfection, and meticulous realism. The partially visible manhole cover, etched with MADE IN NYC, grounds the work in a specific geography while allowing the viewer to connect with a universal street scene. Scattered remnants like the Chinese takeout box and torn WET FLOOR label add both humor and grit, evoking a space that feels lived in, walked over, and uncelebrated. These elements are not simply decorative—they function as emotional cues, anchoring the piece in memory and identity. The artwork’s title reflects the confusion and clutter that defines public space, suggesting a moment of bewilderment or absurdity embedded in the everyday. Construction, Texture, and Dimensional Intimacy This work exists in three dimensions. Constructed on a wood panel with mixed media materials, it includes real-world textures that mimic asphalt, metal, cardboard, and grime. The 3D elements are not exaggerated—they are subtle enough to suggest depth while preserving the illusion of a flat surface when viewed from a distance. This trick of the eye is part of Monahan’s signature technique, allowing viewers to become physically and mentally engaged with the scale and structure of the piece. Framed in black, the artwork is displayed with the formality of fine art, yet retains its street-level roots in every detail. The materials are layered, collaged, and manipulated to blur the boundary between sculpture and painting, between memory and documentation. Ryan Thomas Monahan and the Material Poetics of the City In the world of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork, Ryan Thomas Monahan occupies a distinctive space. His work does not shout through color or scale, but instead whispers through detail, decay, and resonance. Fragment #2: What The Hell is not a monument, but a memory—a slice of overlooked reality pulled into focus. It reflects the detritus of culture, the poetry of trash, and the persistence of place. Monahan reminds viewers that beauty is found in the smallest fragments, and that the stories of the street are written not just in murals and tags, but in the crumbs, stains, and signage that mark every corner. This piece is not only an artwork—it is a sculpture of lived experience, preserved at human scale for those willing to look down and pay attention.

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