‘All About Alana’ Charts the Making of an NYC It Girl
Alana Jessica Martin is the muse for over 30 photographers in a new group show curated by Ryan McGinley.
Summary
'All About Alana,' a new group photo show curated by Ryan McGinley, has opened at Primary Photographic's Rectangle Room in NYC
The exhibition figures actress, model, and musician Alana Jessica Martin through the lens of 30+ notable downtown photographers, exploring the mythology of the muses throughout art history and the role they play in contemporary culture
Dating almost as far back as art history is the artist’s muse. One of its more enduring forms in culture is the It Girl, the one who will never wear wrong, always influence, not be influenced. She might not be the first you notice when you walk in a room, but will be the only one you think of when you leave, mastering the kind of elusive cool that won’t ever budge. Every era of New York can be understood by its It’s, Grace Jones, Jenny Shimizu, or Chlöe Sevigny, among them. It’s 2026, and a new star has risen.
All eyes are on Alana Jessica Martin in a new photo show at Rectangle Room in New York. Curated by Ryan McGinley, All About Alana puts the actress, model, musician, and nightlife darling center stage, tracing the lure of the modern-day muse and her many mythologies.
The exhibition features work by over 30 New York-based photographers, spanning selfies, Polaroids, photobooth strips, and gritty black-and-whites, each capturing Martin’s likeness in their own signature styles. One image, the wall-wide opener, channels the drama of a pop confessional, Martin laid bare, with a tear-stained stare locked on the lens; another, high-flashed, sees the artist coolly sipping on Pepsi at Katz’s. Some are explicit in their nod to the other reigning All-American bombshells, with a tattered stripes-and-stars flag high, while Martin stands knee-deep in waves.
It’s also a who’s who of downtown photography, so study up, pulling an intergenerational lineup of some of the most exciting image-makers on the scene, such as Daniel Arnold, Charles Caesar, Quil Harwood-Lemons, Jonah Ali Hodari, Jae Kim, Clifford Prince King, Danielle Levitt, Marcus Maddox, Luisa Opalesky, Sam Penn, Richie Shazam, Maxwell Vice and more.
All About Alana is now on view at Rectangle Room at Primary Photographic in New York until November 15. Read on for the full list of featured artists.
Ramie Ahmed
Daniel Arnold
Charles Caesar
Ross Collab
Cade Curran
Rachel Filler
Benjamin Fredrickson
Lee Foxcliff
Snake Garcia
Stas Ginzburg
Quil Harwood-Lemons
Jonah Hodari
Yuki James
Devin Khan
Jae Kim
Milan Lazovski
Danielle Levitt
Emmy Laurie
Marcus Maddox
Ryan McGinley
Vivienne McFarland
Luisa Opalesky
Stuart Perkins
Sam Penn
Clifford Prince King
Ariel Sadok
Chloe Scout Nix
Richie Shazam
Matthew Sprout
Simone Thompson
Maxwell Vice
Primary Photographic
113 Eldridge St.,
NY NY 10002
