Fred Torres Collaborations Features New Work by Gretchen Ryan

Written by Stanislav Charteris Saturday, 26 November 2011 23:51

New York City. Fred Torres Collaborations is proud to present "Gretchen Ryan: Cheers In Heaven", on view through January 7th 2012. "Cheers in heaven" will feature new paintings, drawings and photographs by the Los Angeles based artist. This is Ryan’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. Gretchen Ryan creates portraits of young girls--often beauty pageant contestants. Many of the girls Ryan has followed over the years have transitioned from the pageant circuit to competitive cheerleading, inspiring Ryan to move in this new direction. Inspired by Baroque illusionistic ceiling painting, mythological, and spiritual themes, Ryan set eleven girls within a photo shoot utilizing smoke machines, lighting, and fans to create the effect of placing them in the “Heavens.” Ryan’s idea was to literally elevate the girls as if seen from the earth below. The resulting photographs, such as Three Graces, are dramatic visions in which the girls show off their routines, expressing their confidence and skills, but also their vulnerability and mutual support. In other works, like "The Messenger", Ryan transforms the photographs into the realist paintings and drawings for which she is known. Throughout these works Ryan explores notions of innocent beauty, as well as the objectification and precocious sexuality that sometimes accompanies such competitions.

In the earliest stages of her career, Gretchen Ryan focused her attention on portraits of child beauty pageant contestants. She painted many of the same girls throughout their childhoods, chronicling their evolving understanding of the power of their own beauty. Ryan has always approached her canvas with a deep respect for her models, and for traditional techniques of portraiture. In her near-photorealistic portrayals, she delicately enunciates each ringlet, rhinestone, and ribbon in her subjects' hair. Portraits such as "Kinsey" and "Olivia" capture expressions of fear and dismay rarely seen in images of pageant girls. The vulnerability of Ryan’s subjects alludes to the darker side of youthful beauty. Her much-beloved pageant princesses are put on pedestals, but are therefore also put in danger. Our cultural for beauty, Ryan's work seems to argue, is never without consequence.


At first glance, Ryan’s interest in 18th-century British portraiture and children's fairy tale illustrations is apparent. When one looks deeper into her body of work, equally apparent is her dedication to animal rights. Her portraits of children and animals alike examine purity and youth within the context of societal ignorance and cruelty. Ryan is able to spotlight her subjects in very particular light while skirting preachiness. Gretchen Ryan was born in Boulder, Colorado. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Ryan has exhibited internationally, including the Bristol City Museum (UK), Ford Projects (NY), and Galerie Laurent Godin (Paris).

Fred Torres Collaborations produces special projects with the world's leading artists, curators, and institutions. Fred Torres Collaborations exhibition space in Chelsea has a regular exhibition program that includes catalog publications, gallery talks, performances, and events throughout the year. Founder Fred Torres has been an associate of David LaChapelle for fifteen years. Having started his career as the executive producer of LaChapelle's photo shoots, Torres is currently David LaChapelle's art representative worldwide. He has been fundamental in developing exhibitions of LaChapelle's work at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin; the Museum de Arte Latino Americano Buenos Aires and served with Gianni Mercurio as co-curator of the largest LaChapelle exhibition to date at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.fredtorres.com/

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