Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin’s expansive practice in video, installation, sculpture, sound design, and photo-based work focuses on the fluid nature of identity, the unfolding definitions of community, and the complexities of subject formation. Writing—whether in the form of scripts he writes for his videos or poetic texts that function as prompts for his work in other media—is at the root of his practice. Trecartin tracks the ways in which individual and shared identities are transforming alongside the disorienting interrelationships between the body and language.
Trecartin is the artist most associated with anticipating and capturing the psychic and aesthetic aftereffects of developing forms of technology from the last two decades. He came to wide attention in 2004 with the video A Family Finds Entertainment. The work is emblematic of key aspects of his art: the self-aware tone, multilayered narrative, and dynamic use of animation and computer editing. These elements reposition the structural effects of reality television and predict the ways in which online sharing platforms (YouTube, TikTok, etc) have reordered our experience. Subsequent works have exposed our evolving relationship with the camera, a tool which has recast behavior in profound ways. Even more densely packed with characters, computer effects, and subplots, these works have a radical approach to storytelling that aligns with broader cultural shifts. The liberatory mood and multivalent approach to questions around personal agency and selfhood also reveal the artist’s enduring interest in conceptions of family and gender. In his work, Trecartin creates arenas within which related social and cultural constructs may be subverted, and their hierarchies and conventions reworked.
Whether Line, Trecartin’s current major undertaking with his longstanding collaborator Lizzie Fitch, was commissioned by Fondazione Prada in Milan and is set in the rural Ohio property that he and Fitch share. Conceptually, the work extends core aspects of his practice, specifically questions concerning the composition, maintenance, and meaning of personhood and the “self.” In the video component of Whether Line, Trecartin weaves the term “neighbor” into an exploration of land and related ideas around borders, occupation, and property. This focus on physical, ideological, claimed, and stolen territory continues the artists’ deconstruction of identity into a broader social and political realm. Having begun by constructing massive permanent movie sets that incorporate such features as a water-park-size lazy river embedded into the hillside and a 50-foot watch tower, Trecartin and Fitch continue to add to the project while incorporating contributions from other artists, aiming to establish an “art amusement park” and residency.
Ryan Trecartin (b 1981, Webster, TX) works and lives in Athens, OH. He received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Recent institutional solo exhibitions include Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin: Whether Line, Fondazione Prada, Milan (2019); Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo (2018); Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin: Priority Innfield, La Casa Encendida, Madrid (2016); and Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin: Site Visit, Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2014). Trecartin’s work is held in the permanent collection of over thirty major American and international institutions.
Artworks
Ryan Trecartin
Please Knock Before Going Outside (Flood Season), 2023
Micro-relief prints, area rugs,architectural roofing shingles, stanchions, rope, roofing screws, metallic finishing paint, black walnut, cherry wood, white elm, and plywood. Additional credits: Adam Trecartin: Wood milling, carpentry, and print housing construction; Murphy Maxwell: Whether Line prop and font consultant
91 x 72 x 10 1/2 inches
(231.1 x 182.9 x 26.7 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán
Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin
Porchright, 2023
Repurposed hand-woven gaming chair prototype, metal garden bugs from the summer aisle at Target (c. 2015), wooden laundry sign, decorative wooden flower signs, garden, porch, and pool propaganda from Target circa (c. 2015), metal garden candle holders and pottery from Ross (c. 2015), faux cement snail from Walmart (c 2015), heavy duty ribbon, electrical tape, bungee rope, key chain rings, Fiji water bottles, Sutter Home mini wine bottles, styrofoam, woven basket, handle rubber dip, dog leash, sewing pins, Tetra Pack chardonnay, custom aluminum yard and street signs (2023), metal editorial ant from Menards (2023) masking tape, sharpie, two-by-fours, braided area rug, wagon wheel, wheelbarrow handles, red construction gloves, shutter welding/steel, plywood, a variety of screw types, cardboard, rubber cement glue, a variety of epoxies, Great Stuff expanding foam, underwater pond foam, pea-gravel, gas fireplace logs, flag pole holders, rubber door matte, plant stake rods, plastic clothing pins, wood clothing pins, plant stake rubber twine, bolts, washers, metal yard sign holder, metal street sign holder, free-standing parking sign structure, plastic garbage bag, smooth cast 325 plastic, Smooth-On flexi and rigid foams, Plasti-Paste, UVO colorant, acrylic paint, gel medium, fabric, thread, stuffing, baby clothing from Marshalls (2023), woven bean bag from Target (c. 2015), “Relax” throw pillow from Target (c. 2015), metal rods, wood rods, fashion tape from Micheals (c. 2015), knife & kitchen set from Target (c. 2015), and used cigarettes from the sidewalk. Additional credits: Rhett LaRue: Hand-woven gaming chair prototype.
71 x 149 x 60 inches, in two parts
(180.3 x 378.5 x 152.4 cm, in two parts)
Courtesy of Morán Morán
Ryan Trecartin
Whether Line excerpt, “Panderson Heights“ (Plot Front edit), 2019
4K 60fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 141 minutes and 33 seconds, looped
Commissioned by Fondazione Prada
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin
Whether Line excerpt, “Agree Only in Patches“ (Plot Front edit), 2019
4K 60fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 141 minutes and 33 seconds, looped
Commissioned by Fondazione Prada
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin
Whether Line excerpt, “Regional Stevens“ (Plot Front edit), 2019
4K 60fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 141 minutes and 33 seconds, looped
Commissioned by Fondazione Prada
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin
Whether Line excerpt, “Cemetery Said“ (Plot Front edit), 2019
4K 60fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 141 minutes and 33 seconds, looped
Commissioned by Fondazione Prada
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin
Peak Pooper, 2015
Animation Companion
Digital print, hand wrapped custom frame, 200 denier packcloth, glue, wood, non-glare. Additional Credits: Rhett LaRue: Docent Watch Dog 3D Modeling
26 × 38 × 1.5 inches, framed
(66 × 96.5 × 4.5 cm, framed)
Edition of 6 plus 2AP
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
Ryan Trecartin
Arrive Alive Tickle Pets, 2015
Animation Companion
Digital prints, hand wrapped custom frames 3mm military sandwich mesh, 1000 denier coated codura nylon, crushed velvet rayon cotton mix, camouflage exterior blind fabric, glue, wood, non-glare plexiglass, aluminum backing. Additional Credits: Becky Brazier: Prosthetics + Additional Makeup & Hair. Rhett LaRue: Temple Tickle Dino Cat 3D Modeling, Compositing & Color Work
62.875 × 77 × 1.75 inches, framed
(159.7 × 195.6 × 4.5 cm, framed)
Edition of 6 plus 2AP
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin
Field Walker, 2015
Steel, plastic, orange cone pieces, casters, dog toys, shirts, wood, screws, epoxy, gaffer’s tape, pearlescent powder, acrylic paint, garden tools, deck restoration texture paint, fake palms, cellophane, fake ficus tree, ‘The Great Stuff’ insulating foam, spray paint, decorative tree balls, cardboard, contact cement, nuts, bolts, washers, brown paper, webbing, plastic clips, thread, d-rings, metal clips, and shooter ‘FIELD’ shirts from Site Visit
84 × 105 × 79 inches
(213.4 × 266.7 × 200.7 cm)
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin
Game Ampersand, 2015
Gaming chair, plaster strips, bond, epoxy, spray paint, safety pins, steel casters, plastic, pillow, paper towel racks, plastic bone, hair clips, tire dog toy and bell, dog poop collection bag dispenser, decorative burlap wraps, dog leash, model landscaping foam moss, craft store gravel, cut garden boats, panty hose, panty hose socks, foam, plastic, wire, dog bone biscuits, dog bone circles, zip ties, ‘Burbank’ sun hat, cork tape, hair extension, decorative sea sponge, decorative burlap flowers, safety pins, hemp ropes, craft string, swimming goggles, rubber bracelet, ribbon, straw, plastic palm tree, flower pot holder, wrist brace, hand brace, hernia brace pad, chicken wire, plastic cactus, gaffer’s tape, rope, fake antler, and ampersand
71.625 × 67.25 × 46.5 inches
(182 × 171 × 118 cm)
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin
American Honey, 2015
Panty hose, epoxy, key ring, earrings, tin flower, papier mache craft hands, PVC pipe, screws, foam, fake nails, tennis balls, coffee cups, zip ties, denim craft balls, ‘Free Spirit’ t-shirt, feather, cardboard cone, red and grey caster, watch, latex gloves, shoe, paper towel roll stand, hat, spray paint, jewelry chain, string, hot glue, and wagon wheel
33.875 × 27.125 × 32 inches
(86 × 69 × 81 cm)
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
Ryan Trecartin
I-Be Area, 2007 (excerpt)
SD 29.97fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 108 minutes and 6.13 seconds
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin
(Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me.), 2006
SD 29.97fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 7 minutes and 14 seconds
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
Ryan Trecartin
A Family Finds Entertainment, 2004 (excerpt)
SD 29.97fps color video with stereo audio
Runtime: 41 minutes and 14.28 seconds
Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Morán Morán
© Ryan Trecartin
