GALLERY
Ryan Humphrey’s exhibition at Road Agent, Diver Down, showcases the recent Whitney Independent Study Program grad’s work in a testosterone-fueled explosion. Humphrey’s hammering energy and unapologetic machismo are what got him noticed (and in trouble) at the politically corrected Whitney earlier this year. He’s sincere in his enthusiasm and makes no apologies for adopting Eddie Van Halen’s guitar graphics to his own heavy industry sculpture, for example. Cars, stereos, guns, BMX: why not own up to the immediate hard seductiveness of these images, why try to filter the adrenaline in the name of (some pretense of) sophistication? Forget low art’s infiltration of high-end spaces; why can’t high art be about the rush? Like culture, true art can only exists when a full spectrum of impulse is explored. Humphrey’s installations, such as a full-sized fiery old van or an unexpectedly customized pumping speaker system, are a natural counterbalance to a current art-world indulgence for navel gazing.
Humphrey is an MFA of Hunter College and a young New-York based artist with an impressive exhibition history; his profound appreciation for content falling in line with form kicks away the crutch of lazy irony. When he sells his glossy MDF sawed-off shotguns in the streets of Chelsea, he’s not kidding, nor is he self-righteously criticizing the ever-hungry gallery system. He just enjoys the dialogue. And how can a giant cruciform made up of twenty-eight Diver Down album covers not be ironic? If the artist loves Van Halen’s fifth album as much as Humphrey does. Besides that, it looks very cool. No apologies.
Ryan Humphrey Bio
Installation photos
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