Talk enfant terrible - iconic American photographer Ryan McGinley is shown with never-before-seen polaroids and older works. McGinley documents his post-adolescence, messy, beautiful and dangerous.

Ryan McGinley comments his body of work as follows: „Say yes to almost everything, and try new things. Don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t be afraid to work hard. Do your pictures, don’t try and do somebody else’s pictures. Don’t get lost inside your head, and don’t worry what camera you’re using. Approach art like it’s your job. Show up for photography every day for eight hours. Take it as seriously as a doctor would medicine. Take photos of everything. If you are working hard, really hard, opportunity will come. And when it does, you better be ready for it with your camera in hand.“

Art Critic Stefano Raimondi writes: “Ryan McGinley is certainly a charismatic artist.
To my mind, what makes Ryan even more special is his innate ability to grasp – and in some cases anticipate – the esprit nouveau of the moment, to tell a story and contribute with it to the creation and renewal of a myth that, on the basis of its etymology, from the Greek mythos, means argument, account.”

The retrospective looks at how McGinley first established the language of his photography from his formative NYC days; flesh, semen and blood express a collective resistance to authority that still resonates today.

“The litheness of Ryan’s models and the intimacy between subject and photographer intimates a type of sexualism that is brought into action through the camera as a device.” (Ivan Vartanian)

More informations at: mcadenver.org