An extensive survey of star photographer Ryan McGinley’s works is on exhibit in Seoul for the first time.

The New York-based photographer has been known for his portrayal of youth and diverse emotions associated with it such as freedom, passion, liberation, anxiety and rebellion.

The Seoul exhibition presents his major series featuring youthful images, which have caused a sensation in the art world and offered hope to his viewers of all generations.

McGinley is also known for being the youngest artist to hold a solo exhibition in 2003 at Whitney Museum of American Art at the age of 24. His exhibitions since then have received great attention. In 2010, his solo exhibition drew more than 3,000 viewers on opening day, shutting down the street in front of the gallery. From that point on, streets in front of galleries have become traffic-free for the “Soho block party” that they throw for exhibition openings. He also won the Young Photographer Award by ICP in 2007.

The 36-year-old artist brings his work to the Korean audience hoping to communicate beyond the language barrier.

“I think of myself as an ‘American artist’ but I am excited to be showing my work in Korea because I feel that my photographs communicate free from the constraints of language,” said the artist on the opening of the Seoul exhibition.

McGinley embeds positive messages like freedom, joy and pleasure that override some of the negative images associated with adolescence that are frequently seen in other portrayals of youth. 

“‘Youth’ to me describes a place of emotional and artistic optimism and freedom, a place where passion supersedes cynicism. I see it so potently in the people I photograph, like a second skin. So many of them are artists in their own right ― painters, writers, musicians ― which gives them a certain openness and vulnerability, an accessibility of feeling that is crucial to my creative art,” he said.

On display includes the Road Trip series that captured free-spirited, mystical scenes; the Animal series, highlighting forms created with the movement of a model’s body and animals; and The Kids are Alright (2002), capturing groups of friends and lovers in New York.

Most of his photographs contain nudity without trying to be sensational. They are natural ― the feeling that the artist looks for in capturing human bodies.

“Human bodies are subject matters that stimulate my interest. It is natural ... I love the feeling of skin and the way that light breaks onto the body,” said McGinley in an interview with the museum in the exhibition catalogue.

His works show a slow transition from spontaneous to thoughtfully planned.

“My early works were very liberal, but recently they have become more refined ... In my early works I just started to record images, but as time goes by, my photos have developed more and more into planned and organized works. I think it is a natural improvement,” McGinley said.

The exhibition is on view until Feb. 23 at Daelim Museum in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. For more information, call (02) 720-0667, or visit www.daelimmuseum.org.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)