RICHMOND, VA.- The creative process for Ryan McGinness’ 2009 commissioned painting Art History Is Not Linear is the focus of this inventive exhibition. This painting marked the first time that McGinness created an installation with site-specific imagery that directly links to a museum collection. The exhibition is on view January 25 - October 19, 2014.

Commissioned by VMFA, the artist’s 16-panel painting contains 200 icons inspired by works from the museum’s collection. The project was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Fund for American Art. The 32-feet long work by this Virginia artist—born and raised in Virginia Beach; currently lives in New York City—is on permanent display in the museum’s entrance foyer. McGinness creates paintings, sculptures and environments by using the visual language of public signs, corporate logos and contemporary iconography. He says his work evolved from his interest in design, illustration and popular culture.

The artist develops his initial hand-drawn sketches into more finished drawings and then digitally scans them. Once these computer versions are complete, he regenerates them as silk-screens to be printed onto canvases, or, in the case of Art History Is Not Linear (VMFA), 16 acrylic-on-birch-plywood panels that are each 4 feet square. The overall painting is 8 x 32 feet.

Ryan McGinness: Studio Visit is a three-part exhibition: the first gallery provides a glimpse of McGinness’ studio practice, the second displays a selection of the objects McGinness chose from the museum’s collection alongside his sketches and final image, and the last portion features early works the artist made while growing up in Virginia Beach. The exhibition promises to engage a wide audience, and an exciting array of educational programs will encourage young viewers to seek out favorite works in the collection and actively participate in their own process of exploration and interpretation.