We recently had the opportunity to chat with Sabrina Evan from SAB Gallery Collection and Ryan Taylor. Ryan is the artist who has created the amazing Nipsey sculpture. Nipsey Hussle, as you may know, was an iconic hip hop artist. And Ryan took that inspiration and turned it into an incredible sculpture that’s beginning to have a very interesting provenance.
ABN: Thanks to both of you for joining me today. And I can’t wait to get into talking about Nipsey Hussle and where it’s been and where it’s going. Let’s start from the beginning. Sabrina, tell us how you and Ryan came together.
Sabrina: It is very interesting because we’re based in Los Angeles and always looking for new talent. That means we attend shows and art fairs that happen in and around L.A. It happened that one of our gallery coordinators was at a show in downtown L.A., and she discovered Ryan and saw the sculpture that was showcased there for the first time. She came running in and told me all about Ryan and how she met him and being astonished by his work. We were getting ready for Miami Art Week and looking for unique pieces to include to our exhibition. We thought it was a perfect fit because it represents L.A. and our culture.
ABN: Ryan, tell me about this sculpture. Where did the idea come from?
Ryan: It’s crazy. I’m from the East Coast originally, but I live in L.A. now. I have different series that I rotate through in my work. One of the series is called Immortality. I was searching for people that are doing really cool things in the city that I love, not necessarily deceased. I was searching for someone to be in the first in the series — and then tragically he passed. And so that let me know exactly who I would do for the first piece in the series. If you know anything about what he was doing in Los Angeles, he was just making the place way better. It’s way less about his music than it was about what he was doing for the community. And so that’s the discussion around the piece more so than his music. Of course, his music is a huge factor, and I love hip hop culture, but the reason for the piece is because of all the amazing things he was doing for L.A.
ABN: Ryan, tell our readers how you came to be a sculpture artist. What is it about working with metal that you find so inspirational and intriguing?
Ryan: I’ve been an artist my whole life, but I’ve been a technical artist for my professional career, meaning I work in visual effects, computer animation. That’s my career for the last 15 years. About five years ago, I wanted to take that medium and transition it, translate it to something that was a lot more permanent, something to get myself in the art world. Visual effects for me as a technical artist is less in the art world — you don’t go to shows and experience all the amazing things that I got to experience through SAB Gallery. So it started there, and then I just leaned into it and just started building. Eventually I chose subject matter that was really interesting and meaningful to me. I started small, doing a little furniture stuff here and there. And then I found my way into the art world through SAB and everyone else that I connected with at the fairs.
ABN: Sabrina, discovering Ryan sounds exciting. But then what was the decision process in terms of bringing him to Miami and then Artexpo New York and Art San Diego last year. Tell us a little bit about that process because I think artists are always interested in how a gallery really finds an artist and decides to put them in their collection.
Sabrina: As I mentioned before, we’re always looking for cultural artists that represent L.A. best. We learned that Ryan was an artist that could really speak for his sculpture. It’s just such a massive and meaningful piece. We found it to be very unique, and we decided to include it in Miami. The transportation of it was very tricky. Transporting it was tricky because the sculpture weighs about 300 pounds — it’s very heavy and there’s also the challenge of putting it together and taking it apart. It was a journey for us, figuring out the logistics, the presentation, and how we’re going to display the sculpture. But we figured it out and got it to Miami. We felt like the start in Miami Art Week was very important because it’s the hub of the art world. And where else can you represent the best of L.A. than in Miami? It’s where the art world travels to discover new artists. It was the perfect place to start for us.
It just went so great, we all enjoyed having Ryan there, and everyone gave us such great positive feedback. From there, since Ryan is from the East Coast, we decided to join the next fair and take it to Artexpo New York. Of course, then coming back for Art San Diego was close to our hometown, and we could complete the Nipsey exhibition in California. That’s why we did all three fairs, which were incredible. Every conversation with collectors and visitors was just so meaningful. And so many opportunities came along with exhibiting in all these cities for Ryan and for his sculpture. We are very grateful, and I feel like we made the great choice.
ABN: Well, I love that story. And, of course, seeing it evolve and come to fruition was absolutely very exciting. But Ryan, what did that mean to you in terms of when SAB Gallery approached you and wanted to place your piece in Red Dot Miami, and then take it on the road?
Ryan: It was amazing. Imagine, I was in my shop working on these pieces for four years and not really showing anyone. I had some social media presence, and I was posting here and there, but I didn’t really put too much into pushing it out there. When SAB approached me and wanted to place my piece in Red Dot Miami, I was like, “Hell, yeah!” I mean, it was crazy because going from no one really seeing it in a dark room to Miami was massive. It meant a lot, and it meant that I could give myself permission to really take my art more seriously. When the fair opened on that first day, it hit me that we’re doing something really cool. After that, I was like, just keep this going. We kept going, and we went to New York and San Diego.
ABN: And what’s happened to Nipsey since then?
Ryan: Actually, quite a bit. Miami was a great show in general, but also a great first show. Just to talked to literally a thousand people a day and wrap my head around what I’m going to say about this piece and what it means to me. Then when it got to Artexpo New York, I won the Best Sculpture Award! Also at Artexpo, I made contact with the curator of the Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx that’s now being built and is almost done. The timing of it couldn’t have been more perfect. Been talking to him every month. We have these calls and how are we going to get the Nipsey piece into the Museum. The opportunity for me to get it in there for the grand opening and their initial exhibition is tremendous. I think this year is starting to really come together based on all the exposure.
And from doing the fairs, people saw my work. And now I have Christie’s Auction working on bringing it for an installation in New York. What I can say is getting this piece out there, everyone seeing it, and then people offering collaborations. “Hey, can do this? Would you be a part of this crazy cool collaboration that I have?” It’s just starting to build and snowball. It’s been instrumental in everything that I’m doing currently. It’s been huge.
ABN: That’s a great story. But, Sabrina, what has the Nipsey Sculpture’s impact been for SAB Gallery? How has it all impacted you?
Sabrina: First of all, receiving the Sculpture Award during Artexpo New York last year was a moment that really was meaningful for us as a gallery and the artists that we represent. Plus making connections with the museum and working with collectors has been great. We actually had some music industry producers also connect with us. The Nipsey sculpture definitely led us to many other opportunities and opened doors to knowing more people from different industries as well as expanded connections in the art world. It’s been very, very impactful, and we are very proud of Ryan, and we’re very proud of everyone that worked so hard to put in it all together and presenting the work and just taking a moment to take a look and really get to know the story behind the sculpture. There’s so much to see at an art fair, but a lot of people really took time to talk to us, to learn about it, and share their story too.
ABN: Nipsey is definitely a showstopper. This whole story demonstrates that the people that come to an art fair are interested in art. The other thing that I think is really interesting about this story is the variety of people that come to an art fair — their backgrounds and what they’re looking for. Museum curators, gallery owners, entertainment professionals, it’s so multifaceted. Ryan, Beyond what we’ve already discussed, I think you created additional opportunities based on the Nipsey sculpture. Tell us a little about what the Nipsey sculpture has inspired.
Ryan: In Miami, I made a contact there and just a really cool guy, and I’m really big on just the vibe and energy of the people. That’s what drew me to the SAB Gallery, too. We just hit it off right away and he’s a jeweler. He looks for really cool collaborations inspire him. We talked about the Nipsey piece for a long time. So by the end of my first show, I had a potential collaboration with someone who was doing something that was right in line with what I wanted to do — find ways to make things more accessible for people. Obviously, Nipsey is a very big piece. I collaborated with him, we had follow up meetings, and talked about how we wanted to do this. And by the time Art San Diego came around, we had some prototypes of limited edition pendants based on the sculpture. And that’s a whole new world I’m learning about.
ABN: Expanding horizons. Let me switch gears just a bit and ask you both this question. Sabrina, what was the best advice you’ve ever received?
Sabrina: The best advice? I would say I come from the background where I was a full-time artist, and then I transitioned into helping and growing my gallery and uplifting our focuses on sharing female artists and their talents. When I started, I always looked up to the other artists who were already successful. I would attend all the shows and try to learn from every perspective — from the artist, from the gallerist, and anyone I could get advice from. It’s very important when you start on your journey to see what other people do and learn from the best, and then you can add what you need to grow as an artist or as a gallery.
Definitely one of the best advices I’ve ever received was to focus on discovering your style. Who do you see? How do you see yourself as an artist? I ask that question a lot. Figuring that out is very tricky because you are growing and there’s so many things happening in the world. Just finding your style and finding who you are and what you speak for as an artist is very important.
I think that’s one of the most important questions you should ask yourself and find an answer for. The best advice was if you figure that out, you will navigate your way and you will find your audience and you find your path and you’ll grow as an artist. I love that.
ABN: Ryan, how about you? That’s great advice. What was the best advice you’ve ever received?
Ryan: First of all, I think Sabrina just gave amazing advice. For me, it’s more of a mindset thing. One of my friends who is also a creative type, told me something, and every time I run into something difficult, no matter what it is, I always think of this. He said, “We spend so much time thinking about doing something that often we put more energy into thinking about something than actually doing the thing that we’re doing.” And that’s so true in my case a lot. I can’t tell you how many times I showed up to the shop and I’m just like, I’m just stalled. And it’s because I’m thinking way too hard about all of it. Sometimes you just need to start doing it and things get figured out as you go. You can spin your wheels because you just don’t know how to do it.
When I’m spending too much energy thinking about what I need to do, I try to take a small portion of that energy and put it into just starting it. And so Nipsey was also a huge testbed for me to learn a lot of new things because it’s the first time I scaled up to that size. I ran into issues many times when I just didn’t know what to do. And I thought “Let’s try something.” Maybe I tried 20 things and they wouldn’t work, but number 21 was the move. That’s the best piece of advice that I’ve gotten that’s helped me through a lot of difficult times.
ABN: Both of those are absolutely terrific and spot on. What’s the scoop for 2025? I know, Ryan, we heard a little bit. We’ve got a museum on the schedule, but what else are you gearing up for?
Ryan: I’m in the middle of the Christie’s auction piece right now, which is super exciting because I thought I heard him wrong when he asked me. He’s actually been in my shop and said my work shows “what you’re capable of and where you can go.” So Christie’s Auction House and the Hip Hop Museum, if those two things happen, I’m happy for the year! These things keep snowballing a little bit and a little bit — it’s at a good rate. I don’t want it to snowball too fast because then I can’t do everything. Too many opportunities is a good problem to have, of course.
I feel like I’m able to really choose the things that are meaningful to me, collaborating with people to find the right creative outlet, imagining wild ideas together. That’s been the biggest catalyst for me and why I’m I think that I’m able to tackle these opportunities in the coming year.
ABN: And how about for you, Sabrina, and SAB Gallery?
Sabrina: We had such a great year last year, and we’re looking forward to 2025 and doing more fairs. We love connecting and showcasing more artworks and more artists. We have hosted nine shows of our own last year, and looking to expand to Europe this year. Our first show is happening in London. We’re very excited for new markets and meeting new people and discovering new artists. That’s something that’s very exciting happening in our community right now, and we really look forward to it.
ABN: Sounds like it’s going to be a great year for both of you! So just as we close, we’ve been talking a lot about art, the SAB Gallery, all of the things that have transpired with the Nipsey sculpture. But when you’re not thinking about all of that, when you’re doing something else, Ryan, where would we find you?
Ryan: I’m always thinking about it. But if I’m not working on something actively, I have a lot of creative friends. For me, I know what’s been really helpful for me and really inspiring is just having my friends around me that are really supportive of me. I want to give that back. I have so many friends that are doing so many projects. I just love to go out with my friends and hear about what they’re doing. You might get a little idea from it or maybe not at all. And maybe you’re just there to support them and make them feel loved and grow as an artist and maybe share some pitfalls of things that you can relate to. And I just love that whole thing. So that’s my first go-to is if I’m not working on something. And I have my little dog. So I’m hanging out with my dog and my girlfriend and just enjoying life going around L.A. We’re always out and about in the city and just discovering new little things right around the corner.
ABN: How about you, Sabrina? Where would we find you?
Sabrina: Yeah, I agree with Ryan that when you’re an artist or in the art world, you always look for inspiration. You always look for new ideas and fresh perspectives. I like to go visit other exhibitions. I actually got a chance last year to visit Art Basel in Switzerland, which was very nice to see where it all started and learn more about the history behind it. And I visited many museums like the Picasso Museum and other places that really taught me a lot more than I knew, and I was lucky to get to experience all that. Just love traveling, love discovering more about art and more about the people, and what they think about art, and sharing those stories on our pages. We share not only about our gallery, but the community and the art. We share about art fairs, about artists, about the shows that are happening because we can all learn from each other and grow together.
ABN: Absolutely. This has been so much fun to have a chance to what’s going on with Nipsey and plans for Nipsey for 2025. Ryan, when you said earlier about Nipsey being part of your Immortal series, it certainly seems like this sculpture is well on its way to being immortal and having a wonderful provenance. Thank you both, and I’ll hope to see you soon.
Ryan: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Linda. I really appreciate it. And I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you at all the upcoming fairs!
Sabrina: Thank you so much. And we’ll see you at Artexpo New York soon.
About SAB Gallery
SAB Gallery, located in LA, is a modern art gallery that showcases both established and up-and-coming artists by participating in prominent art fairs. The gallery is well known for its female empowerment and monthly shows that they host in LA. With a strong focus on showcasing the talent and creativity of women artists, the gallery has become a hub for celebrating and empowering women in the art world.
About Ryan Taylor
Through sculpture, I see the possibility to make a connection with others – to start a conversation worth having. What really hits me about art is the connection between artist and audience.
“Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced.” – John Keats
John Keats sums it up so well. To me, a piece of art hidden from the world is a sin. My work is meant to be interacted with and touched. In many cases that means direct contribution from art-goers during an exhibit. My goal is to bring this experience to people by involving them — making it real. Passing the torch to a stranger and allowing them to have the final say on a piece of art unites us and allows a real conversation to begin. See more https://www.ryantaylor3d.com/
