Ryan McGinley: YEARBOOK
1 March - 14 July 2024
In partnership with PHOTO Australia, Shepparton Art Museum presents YEARBOOK — American photographer Ryan McGinley’s first major solo exhibition in Australia. Consisting of a single artwork featuring over seven hundred vinyl-printed studio portraits of creatives living and working in New York City and adhered to every available inch of wall in the gallery, YEARBOOK envelops the entire space with bold colour and form. Despite the distinct individuality of each subject, the posters are unified by McGinley’s exceptional skill in capturing a fleeting moment. For YEARBOOK, McGinley employs techniques of mass commercial image production to realise a profoundly personal vision. First presented in New York City in 2009, McGinley has shown this ever-evolving work at major public institutions in Tokyo, Denmark, Korea, and Spain. YEARBOOK is an official exhibition of PHOTO 2024 International Festival of Photography.
Please note: This exhibition contains full-frontal artistic nudity.
Image: Ryan McGinley: YEARBOOK, installation view, Shepparton Art Museum, 2024. Photo: Leon Schoots.
Curator: Jessica O'Farrell
Location: Lin Onus Gallery, Level 1
Free
Image: RyanMcGinley, courtesy the artist.
About the Artist
Ryan McGinley is a New York–based photographer. His early photos displayed the unseen intersection of skateboard and graffiti culture, with a strong queer focus. At age twenty-five, he became the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (NYC). For over a decade, McGinley has road-tripped continuously throughout the United States to create work that incorporates the human body within the American landscape. Dubbed by GQ as “the most important photographer in America”, McGinley can often be found on the streets of NYC participating in queer activism, fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights. McGinley frequently presents international solo gallery and museum exhibitions and has an ongoing studio practice photographing members of NYC’s creative community.
About PHOTO Australia:
PHOTO Australia was founded in 2018 to launch a major new photography biennale in Melbourne and sites across Regional Victoria. Taking place every two years, the festival addresses the major issues of our time in a program of free exhibitions, outdoor displays and artist commissions across the city, as well as awards, talks, workshops, tours and experiences. Presenting ideas critical to contemporary photographic discourse, PHOTO encourages the public to engage with and think about photography and visual culture in new and inspiring ways.
The inaugural festival PHOTO 2021 ‘The Truth’ presented 105 exhibitions by 160 artists. PHOTO 2022 ‘Being Human’ saw presentations of 130 artists across Melbourne including icons Cindy Sherman and Helmut Newton, with British Journal of Photography claiming the biennale is “Australia’s most prestigious photography festival.” Both festivals have attracted a total of more than 250,000 participants. PHOTO 2024 01–24 March ‘The Future Is Shaped by Those Who Can See It’ will be the third edition.
Feature image: Ryan McGinley, YEARBOOK, installation view Pretty Free at Marlborough Gallery, London, 2020. Image courtesy of the artist. © the artist.
