RYAN MCGINNESS (b. 1972)

Ryan McGinness is an American artist, living and working in Manhattan, New York. Known for his original extensive vocabulary of graphic drawings which use the visual language of public signage, corporate logos, and contemporary iconography, McGinness creates paintings, sculptures, and environments. McGinness is interested in assuming the power of this anonymous aesthetic in order to share personal expressions. His work is in the permanent public collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Cincinnati Art Museum, MUSAC in Spain, and the Misumi Collection in Japan.

Ryan McGinness communicates complex and poetic concepts through an amalgam of icons and symbols. Using a very graphic visual vocabulary, McGinness creates a social commentary on the use of language as well as on historical and contemporary symbolism in marketing and mass culture.

He has, in turn, incorporated his symbols into designs for mass-produced goods such as T-shirts, skateboards, and soccer balls. Residing somewhere between abstraction and representation, his graphic drawings and personal iconography are replicated and recontextualized throughout his densely-layered paintings.  McGinness is interested in our innate desire to make sense of chaos and give meaning to seemingly abstract forms.

(MOCA San Diego)