An image of the Akin Vitrine Gallery from the street, showing Charlotte Van Ryn’s exhibition All of the Glory, None of the Spending. Hung on the white walls of the vitrine gallery are poems on white paper in glass frames. Hanging on the back wall is a large, red knitted textile with light red diamonds inside. The textile is triangular in shape and comes down to a point on the ground of the vitrine. Also on the ground are two white plaster sculptures, one of hands and one of feet, both wrapped in red string. From the ceiling, large red beads hang on a long string.

There’s a new exhibition at the Akin Vitrine Gallery! Viewable 24/7 from the sidewalk, the gallery is located at Akin St Clair, 1747 St Clair Ave W. All of the Glory, None of the Spending by artist Charlotte Van Ryn is installed until the end of March, so be sure to swing by and check it out!

Charlotte Van Ryn (she/her) is a fiction writer, poet and multimedia artist. She studied at the University of King’s College in Halifax and African Studies at the University of Ghana. She’s published stories in Broken Pencil Magazine, Words (on) Pages and won the 2016 Blodwyn Memorial Prize for Fiction. She co-hosted The Listening Party, a popular Toronto reading series. In 2024, she attended the LODGE artist residency, which became the inspiration for the art show Red is Dead, which took place a Remote Gallery in January 2025.

Her exhibition at the Akin Vitrine Gallery, All of the glory, None of the Spending is a collection of new work featuring plaster sculpture and string, a six foot tall knitted textile called “Ladybird,” and two poems.

We caught up with Charlotte to learn more about the exhibition, her practice, and inspirations.

Akin: What are you curious about right now?

Charlotte Van Ryn: Snakes! And why they’re following me around. They’ve been appearing in my dreams lately. I recently collaborated with fellow artist Theresa Hopkins on a zine; I wrote the words and Theresa did the illustrations. Theresa drew the character 'cream' (loosely based on me, or a fantasy version of me) with a snake tattoo, which I didn’t prompt her to do. I've begun drawing snakes. I'm trying to figure out what this means for me, but mostly I like to let it go and embrace the inspiration, I'm sure it'll lead to something interesting down the road.

Akin: What do you do to stimulate curiosity and inspiration?

CVR: I read, I walk, I try to watch for signs. I find it's good to keep myself open and ready to create, which gets tricky when 'life' gets in the way. I think it's good to allow some time for the muse to bust in the door.

Akin: Do you have a studio routine ie: Are you a daily ritual person or are you project-focused in spurts?

CVR: I used to be a morning creator, all my adult life. I thought the morning was the only time for me. But lately my schedule has shifted and I find it most convenient to work at night, after I've clocked out of work. I try to work on a regular schedule. My rule of thumb is this: if there's nothing physical keeping you away from the studio that night, then go, regardless of emotion. Even if I do not 'produce,' I'm always happy just to be there. It helps to keep good snacks there.

Preparing for my last show really proved to me that I can create any time, any day, that perhaps I've been a little too dainty with my practice in the past. I'm more resilient than I thought.

Akin: Do you have creative prompts or habits to help you get started? Any self-care tips to share?

CVR: I just try not to judge myself too harshly, to keep in mind that circumstances play a big role in what goes down onto the page (or the canvas). It's good to just keep going. If I can't write fiction that day, I write poetry or short fiction. If I can't write at all, I read. If I can't read, I paint. If I can't paint, I knit. All mediums take a different kind of attention. This act of swerving has strangely turned me into a multidisciplinary artist, which I never anticipated for myself. Before this year, I always considered myself just a fiction writer.

No matter the discipline, one big thing I do for myself, is try to limit the amount of media I consume. All that media is great and important, but I want to keep myself in the here and now when I'm in the studio.

A close up view of the exhibition All of the Glory, None of the Spending by Charlotte Van Ryn. The red knitted textile ends in a final string looped across the ground of the vitrine. Beside it are two sculptures, one of hands and one of feet, both wrapped in red string. On the left and right edge of the vitrine is a sign that reads “All of the Glory, None of the Spending”.

Akin: Are you reading/listening to/watching right now which is inspiring you? If so, how?

CVR: I recently read The Dying of the Light by George RR Martin which I thought was amazing, I also love Elena Ferrente's novels. I love Dhalgren, by Samuel Delaney, and The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolano.

Recently I've been writing about anger. The poetry of CA Conrad has been helping me with that (specifically the book "While Standing in Line for Death)" and a lot of hardcore music: Gel, Spy, Gouge Away.

The title for this exhibition has been lifted from a Jennifer Castle song, Fractal Canyon. I’m obsessed with Jennifer Castle and listened to her a lot while creating this work.

Akin: What does your Akin studio mean to you? What brought you to Akin?

CVR: My studio is a place of freedom, play, suspension. It's a place where time feels different, moves slower or faster depending on the activity. It's also like a protective barrier between myself and the big bad world.

Akin: What advice would you tell your younger self about creating art? What have you learned?

CVR: When you assume you make an ass out of you (young self) and me (present self)! My practice used to be so rigid, nowadays it's more flowing and fun. I can do way more than I thought I could.

Find more of Charlotte’s work on her instagram @van_ryn