Ryan McGinley’s new show Winter at Team Gallery features a troupe of nudes exposed to the elements: delicate skin turns pink, raw, and at times bloody in the midst of an icy landscape. These images, captured with the help of an ice fishing tent and numerous space heaters, display both human vulnerability in the face of open air, as well as the peace we find in nature.
Thirty eight year-old McGinley is far from a debut artist. He started his carreer in 2003 at the age of 25 with the major gallery show The Kids are Alright at the Whitney, making him the youngest artist to ever have a solo show at the famed institution. His most recent work carries on the theme of pale, elfen youth, but has transported his subjects from an urban to a rural setting.
“I realized that I really liked the idea of taking people out of the city. It brought out a freedom and energy. People really let down their guard and I liked photographing that,” McGinley explained in a Vice interview.
McGinley’s prominence is often told as a classic outsider rises to fame story: McGinley started his journey taking photographs of often enebriated, reveling friends, which were first shown in an empty SoHo building in 2000. From there, he has shot countless youths in various stages of undress, conveying a raw portrait of what it is to be wild, young, and vulnerable. His new show, in which his subjects are dwarfed by frozen facades, is a refreshing departure from the urban and commercial focus of his previous work.
Winter will be on display at Team Gallery’s SoHo, NY and Venice, CA locations through December 20th.
All images courtesy of the gallery.
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