Gryphon Gallery: The Koopmans

Ryan ’04, Emma ‘06 and Ross ‘08 Koopmans were, as their grad photos show, happy, confident  young adults ready to take on the world. Academics, sports, well-loved by peers and willingness to participate came naturally, so for these multi-talented students it was a little bit of a guessing game what they may end up doing.

After thinking an architect might be his destiny, Ryan is now a very successful lens-based artist interested in the built environment and the societies that are shaped by those environments. Ryan completed his undergraduate degree in the interdisciplinary practices of geography, art history, and psychology at UBC, which formed the basis for his interest in architecture and the communities living in that architecture. In 2012 he received a Masters of Fine Art in Photography, Video & Related Media at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Ryan is primarily drawn to photographing surreal structures in our world’s megacities and urban landscapes. Formal qualities in their geometry, repetition, and saturation help him illustrate what he terms ‘the poetry of form in interesting locations.’ In essence, his work documents the points of intersection where the natural and manmade converge. He credits his upbringing on Canada’s rugged West Coast, where distances and vistas are vast, as to why he often photographs from a removed perspective, embracing a large sense of scale. For examples of his work, look him up on Google.

Emma Claire attended UVic for her BSc in Mathematics and Statistics (2006-2012), with time out to attend the Department of Cardiology & Centre for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. She then attended UBC for her Doctorate in Medicine 2012-16 and the Psychiatry Residency Program 2016-2021. Since July 2021 she has been employed by Island Health – Vancouver Island Health Authority as a psychiatrist.

Ross pursued his Bachelors in Music (2008-2013) at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. He received his Masters in Composition from the Royal College of Music in London, (2014-2016) supported by a Clifton Parker Award. He then pursued a second masters in Sound Recording (Tonmeister), at the Schulich School of Music, (2018-2022). He is a composer, producer, audio engineer and educator. Ross produces and performs music for his solo project Ross K. In 2020, he released his debut record Braedalyn, collaborating on music videos for his singles, Somewhere, With You and After Dark. He is currently working on his second LP, Takaya (2023). He has had work featured with the video channel, Nowness, Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz, and the digital art market, SuperRare as well as many others.