From June 13 through August 8, 2026, New York-based photographer Ryan McGinley presents his new solo exhibition Night Shift at Deitch in New York. With this new body of work, McGinley returns to the streets of his hometown, expanding his visual language by combining the raw energy of his early photography with the cinematic atmosphere of the city at night.
Photographed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. from spring through winter 2025, Night Shift takes viewers across all five boroughs—Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Using long exposures, telephoto lenses, and wireless flash, McGinley creates dreamlike images in which the human body and the urban landscape merge into one. Neon signs, streetlights, and brake lights transform New York into a luminous stage.
“This is my poem to New York City,” says Ryan McGinley. “A place where the rare quietness of the city can reveal itself as a playground for a body in motion.”
The series combines deeply personal locations with some of New York's most iconic landmarks. Cherry blossoms pushing through cracked asphalt, steaming manholes, old workshops, cemeteries overlooking the skyline, and waterfront promenades become the backdrop for McGinley's photographs, alongside recognizable sites including the K Bridge, Fort Greene Park, Lincoln Center, the Angel of the Waters at Bethesda Fountain, and the legendary Cyclone roller coaster on Coney Island.
For more than two decades, Ryan McGinley has been one of the defining voices in contemporary photography. He first gained international recognition with his photographs of New York's skateboarding and graffiti scene surrounding the IRAK collective, as well as his documentary work exploring queer culture. At just 25 years old, he became the youngest artist at the time to receive a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. His later cross-country road trips established the human body within the American landscape as one of the central themes of his practice. McGinley continues to be an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
A publication accompanying Night Shift will be available throughout the exhibition at the gallery.
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