It was a rainy Friday in Brooklyn and I was at the inaugural New York Photo Festival with Carrie Schupper, scoping out new talent. As we strolled through Various Photographs, an exhibition curated by Tim Barber, a former photo editor for Vice magazine and the mastermind behind tinyvices.com, one of the 300 images on display, a piece from New York-based photographer Ryan McGinley, caught my eye. And then Carrie, who has a knack for spotting emerging talent in their natural habit, pointed out McGinley in the flesh, who was checking out the show with a friend in spite of the downpour. Reader, I have to admit was a little starstruck.

And when you check out Spring and By Summer Fall, his current show at Ratio 3 and his first solo exhibition on the West Coast, you'll understand why. These beautiful nude photographs are the ethereal byproduct of three summers worth of road trips; an ode to youth eternal, they combine comely yet awkward young models with breathtaking landscapes. The resulting images—inspired by amateur photography that appeared in nudist magazines during the '60s and early '70s—exude all of the childhood innocence of a skinny dipping adventure at the swimming hole and invoke summer days like a tall, cold glass of lemonade. Must be why McGinley got a solo show at the Whitney when he was only 25 years old.

Watch as a raven-haired nymphet slingshots over a wide-open plain; a group of tennis shoe-clad young nudes dash across a desert highway; a lone female figure dances in a shower of fireworks. Does someone suddenly feel in the mood for June?

Ratio 3 is located at 1447 Stevenson Street, (415) 821-3371. If you're a model who wants to join McGinley on the road this summer, send an email to studio@ryanmcginley.com; include pics and contact info.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:fashion, photography, The Whitney

comments (0) : Send to a Friend : Subscribe

:  digg this :  del.icio.us! :