On Longing

February 25 - April 9, 2022

Monaco is pleased to present On Longing, a solo exhibition by Ryan Patrick Krueger produced by Kalaija Mallery. Please join us with an opening reception on Friday, February 25th from 6-9pm. The exhibition will run through April 9th, 2022, with viewings available on Saturdays from 12-4pm and by appointment.

“In the collection the threat of infinity is always met with the articulation of boundary.”
-  Susan Stewart, On Longing: Objects of Desire

Through their working process that spans over a decade, Ryan Patrick Krueger transcends archival impulse into an alluring presentation of materials sourced from online auctions, old magazines and yearbooks. In doing so, they concretize what otherwise exists as ephemeral, liminal, and hidden away. Their selection focuses on a “pre-stonewall” period of Gay American history, paying homage to a lost visual culture while searching for expressions of masculine intimacy and tenderness in a time that has been marked in response to violence, hatred, and disgust. The resulting body of work is a carefully crafted preservation of artifacts of love unforgotten; the sweeter moments of the space in-between.

Echoed in the philosophical and poetic claim about language made within the show’s titular reference, Krueger asks us to substantiate the power of context by reimagining that “space-between” in terms of what is and is not articulated in photographs. Their work aspires to share what has not been said, what has not had space for being uttered other than what is held behind the curtain of a photo booth, between age-stained pages of a yearbook or kept secret in lost canisters of film. Krueger’s On Longing offers a quiet reformation of the tender moments and the archive, connecting the affect and complexities of masculine intimacy with the weight of what is missed.

BIOS

Ryan Patrick Krueger (b. 1992, New Jersey) (they/he) is an artist and photographer whose work addresses themes of masculinity and friendship. Their process includes collecting vernacular images and appropriating photographs in order to consider the interstices of queer history and photography. Krueger holds a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon and currently lives in Syracuse, New York, where they work as Digital Services Coordinator for Light Work, a non-profit artist-run photography organization at Syracuse University. They have curated exhibitions and held shows nationally, most notably their work in Response Response, a two person exhibition with artist and gay-rights activist Linda Kliewer (b. 1953) held in Portland, OR and Queer Moments: Selections from the Light Work Collection in Syracuse, NY.


For all inquiries and appointments please contact:
Kalaija Mallery kalaija.mallery@gmail.com or Monaco at info@monacomonaco.us

Exhibition documentation by:

Kalaija Mallery @goodartdoc on Instagram