ARTISTS
Ryan Martin: Moxie
Bursting with the vividness of SoCal summers, Ryan Martin鈥檚 portraits of gay, bi, and trans adolescent men are like a rainbow. Tender and fierce, their expressions appear more in flux than fixed on the page, more seeking than static. The artist鈥檚 first solo exhibition in New York City, Moxie is aptly titled. Martin鈥檚 newest series commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, and is a veritable pageant of the pluck, nerve, and determination of queer adolescence.
With titles recalling the summer tunes of the Billboard Hot 100 the morning of June 28, 1969, the Moxie boys mirror Martin鈥檚 artistic process. He begins with figurative contour drawings of faces that drift off into the surrealism of their 鈥渉eaddresses,鈥� guided subtly in their development by lyrics. Martin is motivated by the perennial search for self and the gradual crystallization of identity that define the adolescent psyche, giving ample leeway to unconscious inklings that guide his pencil across the page. Aesthetic choices鈥揷olored pencil on paper, for one鈥揺voke his subjects鈥� youthful spirit. The result is a cast of androgynous teenagers who, like their predecessors, are ready to hit the clubs with verve; their gazes are Crystal Blue Persuasion and Good Morning Starshine, wistful and assured, vulnerable and resilient.
Haloed by iridescent flowers and birds of the tropics, Martin鈥檚 portraits reveal their unmistakeable LA influences. They are Hollywood cool and the summer surf, pop culture (like their namesake, the first mass-produced soft drink brand Moxie), and California sunshine. Their faces reflect the disorientation of discovery, 鈥渁 new vibration鈥� or the 鈥渟pinning wheel鈥� of the dance floor. Martin鈥檚 work captures their moment of transformation, mixing the turbulent highs of adolescence with its lows. His subjects are just learning how to stand out as individuals while finding their place in a community, one with a past and present marked by adversity. Ringed with gold leaf haloes in tatters, Martin鈥檚 Don鈥檛 Let The Joneses Get You Down portraits evidence that struggle, with bruised eyes and bloody noses alluding to the high rates of violence disproportionately inflicted on LGBTQ people. The formative pride his work describes is hard-won, reminding us not to forget the open hostility of the current administration toward LGBTQ civil rights even as we celebrate the progress of the last fifty years.
On view at Elizabeth Houston Gallery from June 26 through August 15, Moxie is Martin鈥檚 first solo exhibition of drawings. Known for his intricate and dreamlike paintings, the artist has honed a palette that matches the season鈥檚 festivities. He enhances that signature rainbow aesthetic here with expressive pencil marks, collage, and mixed-media elements, by turns amplifying and obscuring the mental states of the queer youth he depicts. As for those teens, the words of Gloria Gaynor鈥檚 iconic gay anthem are apropos: they will survive.
Bursting with the vividness of SoCal summers, Ryan Martin鈥檚 portraits of gay, bi, and trans adolescent men are like a rainbow. Tender and fierce, their expressions appear more in flux than fixed on the page, more seeking than static. The artist鈥檚 first solo exhibition in New York City, Moxie is aptly titled. Martin鈥檚 newest series commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, and is a veritable pageant of the pluck, nerve, and determination of queer adolescence.
With titles recalling the summer tunes of the Billboard Hot 100 the morning of June 28, 1969, the Moxie boys mirror Martin鈥檚 artistic process. He begins with figurative contour drawings of faces that drift off into the surrealism of their 鈥渉eaddresses,鈥� guided subtly in their development by lyrics. Martin is motivated by the perennial search for self and the gradual crystallization of identity that define the adolescent psyche, giving ample leeway to unconscious inklings that guide his pencil across the page. Aesthetic choices鈥揷olored pencil on paper, for one鈥揺voke his subjects鈥� youthful spirit. The result is a cast of androgynous teenagers who, like their predecessors, are ready to hit the clubs with verve; their gazes are Crystal Blue Persuasion and Good Morning Starshine, wistful and assured, vulnerable and resilient.
Haloed by iridescent flowers and birds of the tropics, Martin鈥檚 portraits reveal their unmistakeable LA influences. They are Hollywood cool and the summer surf, pop culture (like their namesake, the first mass-produced soft drink brand Moxie), and California sunshine. Their faces reflect the disorientation of discovery, 鈥渁 new vibration鈥� or the 鈥渟pinning wheel鈥� of the dance floor. Martin鈥檚 work captures their moment of transformation, mixing the turbulent highs of adolescence with its lows. His subjects are just learning how to stand out as individuals while finding their place in a community, one with a past and present marked by adversity. Ringed with gold leaf haloes in tatters, Martin鈥檚 Don鈥檛 Let The Joneses Get You Down portraits evidence that struggle, with bruised eyes and bloody noses alluding to the high rates of violence disproportionately inflicted on LGBTQ people. The formative pride his work describes is hard-won, reminding us not to forget the open hostility of the current administration toward LGBTQ civil rights even as we celebrate the progress of the last fifty years.
On view at Elizabeth Houston Gallery from June 26 through August 15, Moxie is Martin鈥檚 first solo exhibition of drawings. Known for his intricate and dreamlike paintings, the artist has honed a palette that matches the season鈥檚 festivities. He enhances that signature rainbow aesthetic here with expressive pencil marks, collage, and mixed-media elements, by turns amplifying and obscuring the mental states of the queer youth he depicts. As for those teens, the words of Gloria Gaynor鈥檚 iconic gay anthem are apropos: they will survive.
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