Ryan Frank: Unoccupied

Time Equities Inc. Art-in-Buildings is pleased to announce the newest exhibition at the West 10th Window: Ryan Frank, Unoccupied.

Ryan Frank’s Unoccupied considers the physical space of the West 10th Window, the building in which it exists, the surrounding neighborhood, and conditions of inhabitation in Manhattan. Creating a light box in the West 10th Window, Frank presents two back-lit photographs arranged perpendicularly on the two window fronts of the space. The image depicts the Grotte de Sarrazine in France, a site made famous by Gustave Courbet’s painting of the same name. The figure in the foreground is life-size and serves as an anonymous presence in the space, putting figure, ground, and viewer into confrontation with one another, almost forcing passersby to consider their own body in relation to the still image. With a persistent and ever-growing affordable housing crisis haunting Manhattan and its environs, the question of space and its value has never been more exigent. The neighborhood in which the project is embedded – the West Village – is one of the most sought-after in the world, and yet is plagued by vacancy: empty store fronts, unoccupied homes, and disused spaces are, ironically, the result of the very desire that characterizes the area. Unoccupied considers how these spaces are allocated, what purpose they serve, who they invite and reject, and how access is determined.

_______________________________________________________
Ryan Frank is an artist and curator based in Brooklyn, a native of California and a graduate of New York University. Ryan’s work is a unique blend of photography and sculpture through a variety of forms including light boxes, windows and large-scale installation. He’s had solo exhibitions at the Invisible Dog Art Center, the Mattatuck Museum, the Children’s Museum of the Arts and the Lilac Preservation Project and has exhibited his work at venues including The Queens Museum, The Jewish Museum, The Wassaic Project, The Bronx Museum and the Dumbo Arts Festival. Ryan has attended residencies at Jentel Foundation, Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, SIM Iceland and Brooklyn Studios for Dance. His curatorial projects include Used Books at Winkleman Gallery, Reflective Landscape at The Granary, A Very Anxious Feeling at the Mattatuck Museum and I Like the Sound of That at Artspace New Haven. ryanmfrank.com

Next up at the West 10th Window: Negar Behbahani and Mollie Murphy.

For press inquiries please contact: QUINN | TEI@quinn.pr | 212.868.1900

________________________________________________________________

The West 10th Street Window is curated by Eliana Blechman, Natalie Diaz, and Jennie Lamensdorf, and is sponsored by the Time Equities Inc. (TEI) Art-in-Buildings Program. TEI is committed to enriching the experience of our properties through the Art-in-Buildings Program, an innovative approach that brings contemporary art by emerging and mid-career artists to non-traditional exhibition spaces in the interest of promoting artists, expanding the audience for art, and creating a more interesting environment for our building occupants, residents, and their guests.