Artist Ryan McGinley

Alex (Hurricane), 2010 

Tree # 1, 2003 

Untitled (Nude, Sand), 2005 

Untitled (Yellow Sky), 2006 

Blue Breakdown, 2008

No print sizes given.

Bio

RYAN MCGINLEY (b. 1977) lives and works in New York.  He enrolled at Parsons School of Design in 1995, and made a name for himself with ‘The Kids Are Alright’, his raw and intimate photographs of friends in downtown Manhattan at the turn of the millennium.  McGinley’s work has appeared in many publications, including Index, W, Vice, ID, Dazed and Confused, The Fader and New York Times Magazine.  At 24, McGinley became the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and his work has continued to be exhibited internationally, at venues such as P.S.1, Galerie du jour Agnès b., FotografieMuseum Amsterdam (FOAM).  In 2007, McGinley received the prestigious ICP Infinity Young Photographer Award was honored by the Guggenheim Museum’s Young Collectors Council.  McGinley’s latest series, ‘I Know Where the Summer Goes’, was presented by Team Gallery in May, - a monograph of his work, Ryan McGinley, will be published by Twin Palms in Autumn 2008.

http://www.seesawmagazine.com/mcginleypages/mcginleyinterview.html

Relation to my work

McGinley’s work features nudes in nature, just as my images. I really enjoy his series Moonmilk. The figures are very tiny in these huge caves. It forces the viewer to stay longer and search for the figure. His use of color in this series also helps camouflage the bodies. All of his images give off strong feelings, whether they are excitement, tranquility, or wonder. I want to place myself into the images. I am really interested in his use of nudes. Through his series, nudity becomes less shocking and more natural. You become accustomed to seeing nude bodies and realize that it isn’t anything we should be afraid to look at. I have worked with this idea in my previous and current work.

Inspirational Quotes

“I’m not making documentary photographs anymore, but I’m still interested in positive energy, freedom and rebellion.”

“When you’re naked you can’t hide anything, and you become very close with people incredibly quickly.  It was amazing, and I started to think about what kind of images I really wanted to make.  I started to have a different approach.”

“Well, if you take the everyday things that people do in nudism, vintage pornography, and Sports Illustrated, and you mix them all together, you’ll get an idea of what my photos look like.”

“I always wanted to take risks and to have that sort of uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what to expect. I like to make mistakes and learn from them. I think my work evolves from making mistakes doing new things. If you’re not making mistakes you’re not doing anything, you know?”

Artist Site

http://www.ryanmcginley.com/

Gallery Representation

http://www.teamgal.com/

Interviews

http://dossierjournal.com/blog/features/ryan-mcginley-in-conversation-with-david-strettell/

http://www.believermag.com/issues/200802/?read=interview_mcginley

http://www.seesawmagazine.com/mcginleypages/mcginleyinterview.html