Ryan Oskin. Subdivision

About

In the project Subdivision, Oskin utilizes architectural renderings – found posted in the public space enclosing worksites throughout New York – to create new blueprints for each site. These blueprints are made into vinyl prints that interrupt and create new spaces within the gallery. The translation of buildings from a two-dimensional surface to a physical entity by architects is mirrored in Oskin’s practice. 

Blueprints, also known as cyanotypes, were the primary source of reproduction for architectural plans until the 1940’s. For developers, the blueprint is a technical drawing used in conjunction with models to visualize new projects. Today, the idealized digital renderings used to convey to the public the positive effects of these developments appear fraught with the anxieties of daily life. Instances of nature, the city, and it’s inhabitants can appear both unrealistic or hyperreal. By reverting these fabrications to their historical forms, these determined spaces become suspended between the fictions and realities of our immediate future.

Ryan Oskin investigates natural and constructed spaces through photography, sculpture, and installation. He has had solo shows at the Java Project and The Eagle in Brooklyn, NY that featured work both inside and outdoors. His work has been shown throughout the United States at Aperture Foundation (NYC), Johalla Project (CHI), Press Street (NOLA), Newspace Center for Photography (PDX), and underneath the 6th Street Bridge with Cudahy (LA). He recently completed a year-long residency at ARTHA Project in 2016. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Photography in 2012. He currently lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.