Biography
Ryan McGinness was born in 1972 in Virginia Beach, VA
He lives and works in New York, NY
His work consists of an amalgam of icons and symbols. Drawing from his background in the design industry, Ryan McGinness’s work resolves the clinical graphic aesthetics of media as vast, contemplative fields of intimate meditation. It incorporates strong social commentary on iconography, language, and historical and contemporary symbolism. His graphic drawings and personal iconography are replicated, recontextualized, and materialized infinitely throughout his densely layered paintings.
Born and raised in the surf and skate culture of Virginia Beach, Virginia, McGinness moved on to study at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as an Andrew Carnegie Scholar. During college, he worked at the Andy Warhol Museum as a curatorial assistant, which inevitably influenced his proclivity toward pop and graphic aestheticism. Known for his original extensive vocabulary of graphic drawings that use the visual language of public signage, corporate logos, and contemporary iconography, McGinness creates paintings, sculptures, and environments and fabricate the iconography of contemporary experience as spiritual and timeless.
McGinness’s work can be found in such art institutions as The Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY; The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA; the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinatti, OH, and private and corporation collections including the Neuberger Berman Collection, New York, NY; Cobra to Contemporary/The Brown Family Collection, and the Charles Saatchi Collection, London.
CV
Education
- 1994 Carnegie Mellon University, BFA
- 1990-1994 Curatorial Assistant, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA
Solo Exhibitions
- 2019 Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO, Warhol Flower Icons, June 21-July 21 Harper’s Books, East Hampton, NY, Mother & Child, May 11-June 13
- 2018 Nanzuka (AishoNanzuka), Hong Kong, China, Warhol Flower Icons, September 12-October 6, 2018 Nanzuka (EchoOne), Bangkok, Thailand, Warhol Flower Icons, September 8-October 21, 2018
- 2017 Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloom eld Hills, MI, Studio Views, November 17, 2017-March 18, 2018 Quint Gallery, San Diego, CA, Ocular Evidence, November 11, 2017-February 3, 2018
- 2016 Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, #metadata, March 19-April 22
- 2015 Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA, Ryan McGinness: Studio Visit, January 31-April 19
- 2014 Press Play & Record at the Same Time, Pace Prints, New York, NY, May 2-June 7
Everything Is Everywhere, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 5-May 10
Art History Is Not Linear (Boijmans),Vous Etes Ici, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 4-May 10
Ryan McGinness: Studio Visit, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, January 25-October 19 - 2013 Finding Infinity, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, October 9-November 16, 2013
Women & Mindscapes, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland, March 15-April 7 - 2012 Women: New (Re)Presentations,
Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA, September 15-November 3
Gering & López Gallery & Charles Bank Gallery, New York, NY
Women: Sketches & Solutions & Women: Blacklight Paintings & Sculptures, May 3-June 30
Pace Primitive, New York, NY, Geometric Primitives, March 30-May 5
Units of Meaning, Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO, June 22-July 22 - 2011 Trophies, Prism Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, May 26-July 16
Works on Paper, Country Club, Los Angeles, CA, May 21-July 2
Recent Paintings, Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, May 19-July 1
Color Oblicuo, Espai Cultural Caja Madrid, Madrid, Spain, January 26-March 27
Black Holes, Phillips de Pury & Company, New York, NY, January 1-March 8 - 2010 Tuoreita Tondi, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
Studio Franchise, La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain - 2009 Ryan McGinness Works, Deitch Projects, New York, USA
Mindscapes & Blackholes, Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO - 2008 Aesthetic Comfort, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Traveled to: Artcore/Fabrice Marcolini, Toronto, Canada
A Shadow Feeling of Loss, Paolo Curti/Annamaria Gambuzzi and Co., Milan, Italy A - 2007 Varied Editions , Pace Prints, New York, NY, USA
Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA, A Rich Fantasy Life, April 7-May 12 - 2006
Never Odd Or Even, Galeria Moriarty, Madrid, Spain
Traveled to: Vous Etes Ici, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Paolo Curti/Annamaria Gambuzzi and Co., Milan, Italy
Gas, Grass, or Ass (Nobody Rides for Free), Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, East Hampton, NY, USA
Mildly Subversive, Montserrat College of Art Gallery, Beverly - 2005
New Paintings, Danziger Projects, New York, USA
Installationview, Deitch Projects, New York, USA
The Burden of Keeping it Real, André Simoens Gallery, Knokke-Zoute, Belgium
Pain-Free Kittens, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA - 2004
Multiverse, Galerie du Jour, Paris, France
Living Signs, Galeria Moriarty, Madrid, Spain - 2003 Worlds within Worlds, Deitch Projects, New York, USA
Sponsorship, Black Market Gallery, Los Angeles, CA - 2002 This Dream Is So Life-Like, Gas Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Products Are The New Art, Printed Matter, New York, USA
Dream Garden, Deitch Projects, New York, USA
Sign Language Stux Gallery Project Room, New York, USA - 2001 Is the Theory of Everything, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Sign Age, Galerie de Miguel, Munich, Germany
Pieceofmind, Colette, Paris, France
Vocabularytest, Joseph Silvestro Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA - 2000 Shtick, Houston Gallery, Seattle, WA
Luxurygood, Alife, New York, USA - 1999 Flatnessisgod, Zakka, New York, USA
- 1998 Networking Is a Skill, Chaos, New York, USA
- 1997 No Sweat, Manhattan Athletic Club, New York, USA
- 1996 Slow Children Playing, Mad River Post, New York, USA
Group Exhibitions
- 2018 Harper’s Books, East Hampton, New York, Gra k, Curated by Ryan McGinness, August 15-October 10 Graves Gallery, Shef eld, England, Heads Roll, Curated by Paul Morrison, August 11-November 24 Lehman College Art Gallery, New York, NY, Tick Tock: Time in Contempary Art, February 2-May 5
- 2017 Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Drawing: The Beginning of Everything, July 8-October 15
- 2016 Library Street Collective, Detroit, MI, February 27-March 26
- 2015 Lille Métropole Musée d’Art Moderne, Lille, France, A Perspective on Agnès B.’s Collection, June 12-August 23 Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH, Beauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting, January 24-May 3
- 2014 McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX, Beauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting, June 11-August 17 2012 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, Factory Direct, June 24-September 9 Montclair Art Museum, Montclaire, NJ, Modern and Contemprary Art from Private Collections, February 12-June 17
- 2012 Factory Direct, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, June 24-September 9
Montclair Art Museum, Montclaire, NJ,
Modern and Contemprary Art from Private Collections, February 12-June 17 - 2011 Masters of Reality, Gering & López Gallery, New York, November 3-December 23
Nose Job, Eric Firestone Gallery, July 15-August 22
Litos Grafera, Art Centre Silkeborg Bad, Denmark, January 8-April 25
Litos Grafera, Museum of Stavanger, Norway, May 26-September 11 - 2010 Contemporary Magic, National Arts Club, November 4-30
- 2007 Monumental Drawing, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, San Antonio, TX, April 5-June 17
- 2006 Graphic Content, Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH, December 7-February 26, 2007
Art on Paper 2006, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC, November 12-January 21, 2007
The World Is Round, Public Art Fund, MetroTech, Brooklyn, NY, October 27-September 9, 2007
USA Today, Royal Academy of Arts, The Saatchi Gallery, London, England, October 6-November 4
Spank the Monkey, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, England, September 27-January 7, 2007
Since 2000: Printmaking Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, May 3-September 18
The Garden Party, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, March 9-April 29 - 2005 Greater New York 2005, P.S.1/Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, March 13-September 22
- 2004 Will Boys Be Boys? Questioning Adolescent Masculinity in Contemporary Art
Organized by Independent Curators International, Curated by Shamim Momin, 2004-2006:
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Largo, FL
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO
Salina Art Center, Salina, KS
Creative Time, New York, NY, The Dreamland Artists Club, Coney Island, June 12-September 6
Beautiful Losers, Curated by Aaron Rose & Christian Strike, 2004-2008
La Casa Encendida Museum, Madrid, Spain
Arhus Kunstbygning, Denmark
Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland
Le Tri Postal, Lille, France
Palazzo dell’Arte, Milan, Italy
USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL
Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Yerba Buena Arts Center, San Francisco, CA
Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
Les Abattoirs Museum, Toulouse, France, La Collection d’Art Contemporain d’Agnès B., April 9-June 13
MassArt, Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery, Boston, MA, Earthly Delights, January 28-March 17 - 2003 A New New York Scene, Galerie du Jour, Paris, France
Lead Poisoning, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA
Nother Start Video Screening, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan - 2002 SK8 on The Wall, Gallery Rocket, Tokyo Japan
Session The Bowl, Deitch Projects, New York, NY - 2001 Spunky, Exit Art, New York, NY
- 2000 Critic as Grist, White Box, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion, Stamford, CT
Interior Spaces in Contemporary Art
Selected Collections
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery
MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León
The Taguchi Art Collection, Tokyo
The Charles Saatchi Collection
Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloom eld Hills, MI
The Pizzuti Collection
Saastamoinen Foundation, Emma Museum of Modern Art Espoo, Finland
New York Public Library
Norton Family Foundation
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
UBS Collection, New York
Bank of America, New York
J.P. Morgan Chase Art Program
MTV Networks
The Neuberger Berman Collection
Hallmark Art Collection
The Schwab Family Collection
Gilberto e Rosa Sandretto Collection
The Malingue Collection
Sammlung Plum & Akzo Nobel Art Foundation
The Richard E. Jacobs Group
The Shockey Family Collection
Cora Diamond Corporation
The Judy & Rob Mann Collection
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
The Phil Schrager Collection
The Michael Krichman & Carmen Cuenca Collection
The Matthew & Iris Strauss Collection
