Portrait of the Artist: Ryan McGinness

Ryan McGinness is having abusy year. With seven consecutive solo shows and events opening across LA over the past few months, we found it unfathomable that Ryan was awake enough to be interviewed for this video. In fact, he was lucid and enthusiastic as ever when we sat down for a chat at Michael Kohn Gallery, where a show of his brightly colored, graphic paintings was about to open. Ryan is one of the most prolific American artists that emerged in the mid-90s, culling a visual vocabulary from skate, surf and urban culture. His work, which stems from ameticulous drawing process, has progressed immensely over the years, today encompassing painting, sculpture, performance, product design and conceptual installation. Surveying the mix of gallery shows and special projects he's juggling this year, it's clear that Ryan McGinness is an artist without boundaries. His latest foray into blacklight painting, for example, has led to multiple collaborations with the StandardHotel—first during Art Basel Miami, then in New York City at the Armory, and most recently in Los Angeles—all of which featured live dancers, something he'd never done before. The idea for including models and dancers stemmed from a Drawing Salon party, which was part of his 50 Parties project in 2009. 50 Parties was exactly that: a yearlong, event-based series of fifty salon-style parties at his New York studio, each with a different theme. This salon reignited his interest in sketching and drawing the female form. Simple sketches soon ballooned into a multimedia performance piece. Above the hum and clamor of his art show getting the finishing touches, Ryan explained that his overarchingartistic process is applied to everything he makes—including his recent series of footwear for Reebok Classics. Each of the three shoes in the collab pack—the CMYK, the V.I.P., and the Weekend—has its own unique concept. Starting from scratch (or sketch, in this case) Ryan designed each shoe from the ground up. Each represents a part of his life. CMYK for his time experimenting with color in the studio, the V.I.P for when the workday is over and nightlife begins, and the Weekend for relaxation in the garden (yes, the garden!) or on the beach.