RYAN McGINNESS | 28 MARCH - 11 MAY 2024 | Miles McEnery Gallery

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New York, NY: Miles McEnery Gallery, ‘Ryan McGinness: WYSIWYG,’ 28 March - 11 May 2024.
RYAN McGINNESS
The Transparent Reflection of Reality, 2007
Acrylic on linen
96 x 96 inches
243.8 x 243.8 cm
RYAN McGINNESS
Only a Thief Thinks Everybody Steals, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
96 x 143 1/4 inches
243.8 x 365.8 cm
RYAN McGINNESS
The Lazy Logic of Ignava Ratio, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
96 x 144 1/2 inches
243.8 x 367 cm
The Lazy Logic of Ignava Ratio (detail), 2009
RYAN McGINNESS
The Formality of Things Actually Occurring, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 72 inches
182.9 x 182.9 cm

"The mess of the mind is also part of the mystery of the human condition, which is central to McGinness’s motivation as an artist. 'That’s what drives me and my work,' he says. 'Knowing yourself and knowing this idea of what it means to become self-actualized was on my radar from a young age. So what’s the answer to that question? The consequence of always wanting to know yourself is that you’re never gonna know.' Each painting, each print, each drawing, McGinness believes, is an opportunity and inquiry into the self, 'extensions of my identity.' But the works are never about him; in fact, he feels removed from their production. Albrecht Dürer, giggling from grave! But that leaves a question: How is anyone to know an artist if artists don’t know themselves?"

- Julie Baumgardner in "Leaving for Tomorrow"
RYAN McGINNESS
A Willing Victim, 2015
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 72 inches
182.9 x 182.9 cm

"It’s common wisdom that to move forward, it is often necessary to go back to basics. McGinness’s basics are his foundational vocabulary, 'the discernible elements, units of meaning.' So, the exhibition, WYSIWYG (an acronym for 'What You See Is What You Get') brings together four large-scale paintings, including McGinness’s most licensed work, The Lazy Logic of Ignava Ratio, with the small-scale works he produced in his last days at the Chinatown studio. All deploy the same language. 'It’s an exhibition of, for lack of a better term, typical paintings,' McGinness says humbly. In context, however, it’s really a full-circle arc."

- Julie Baumgardner in "Leaving for Tomorrow"
Ryan McGinness studio, New York, NY, 2022.
- RYAN McGINNESS
  Condition Report, 2022
  Acrylic on wood
  24 x 18 inches
  61 x 45.7 cm
- RYAN McGINNESS
  Nobody Likes a Tourist, 2022
  Acrylic on wood
  24 x 18 inches
  61 x 45.7 cm
"WYSIWYG is a time-capsule as much as a dictionary, but it is also a marker of a new chapter for Ryan McGinness. When anyone, especially an artist, is secure in the fundamentals, there is space for evolution. Mark our words: Dive deep into these works now to decode what’s soon to come."

- Julie Baumgardner in "Leaving for Tomorrow"
- RYAN McGINNESS
  Stupid on Stilts, 2022
  Acrylic on wood
  24 x 18 inches
  61 x 45.7 cm
- RYAN McGINNESS
  That Time, 2022
  Acrylic on wood
  24 x 18 inches
  61 x 45.7 cm
Ryan McGinness studio, New York, NY, 2022.
The artist in his studio, 2019.

Ryan McGinness (b. 1972 in Virginia Beach, VA) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in 1994. While completing his degree, McGinness served as a curatorial assistant at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA.

McGinness has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Cincinnati Art Museum, OH; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Espai Cultural Caja Madrid, Barcelona, Spain; MoMA PSI, New York, NY; Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, and elsewhere.

His work has been included in group exhibitions at numerous international institutions such as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, NY; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom; Lille Métropole Musée d’art moderne, France; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; MoMA PS1, New York; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

McGinness’ work may be found in the collections of the AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam; Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea; Cincinnati Art Museum, OH; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the New York Public Library, New York, among others.

The artist lives and works in New York, NY.

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