Artist Statement / BIO

My work dismantles the male gaze that has objectified women for centuries, transforming sexualized imagery into sacred “Icons” worthy of reverence. Inspired by the opulent symbolism of Byzantine art and the irreverent energy of Pop art, I create pieces that provoke, seduce, and critique.
My materials… rooted in eras before feminist movements serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come and how much remains unchanged. Color is my weapon of sarcasm, wielded to expose cultural absurdities, while provocation is my playful yet defiant tool to demand attention.
Through a lens of raw, unapologetic “smut,” I recontextualize the feminine as art, challenging viewers to confront their complicity in gendered narratives. My practice is a rebellion, a celebration, and an invitation to see differently.
It takes the language of advertising and turns it against itself. I use collage to reconfigure the seductive images and slogans that have shaped our understandings of gender, violence, pleasure, and control. By pulling from vintage magazines, pharmaceutical ads, and mid-century Americana, I expose how deeply the visual culture of the past still governs our present assumptions.
These collages are not nostalgic - they’re autopsies.
They examine the glorification of male camaraderie, the normalization of violence, and the eroticization of submission. A bottle of whiskey and a group of clean-cut young men suggest that masculinity is something you can buy and drink. A plea for peace is sandwiched between images of militarized bodies and stress medication, as if trauma and healing are equally commodified. In a most intimate frame, the phrase “It’s only natural” repeats like a spell… inviting the viewer to question what we’ve been told is natural, normal, or even loving.
I use scale and fragmentation to destabilize the gaze, and text as both critique and punchline. The humor is intentional but uneasy. These images ask: What have we accepted without question? What have we worshipped without realizing? By reframing the visual debris of patriarchal culture, I aim to create new icons - ones that provoke rather than pacify, that question rather than comfort.
Kristin Ryan Shea is a contemporary collage artist whose work interrogates the visual legacy of mass media, consumerism, and sex. Using found images from vintage advertising, lifestyle magazines, and pornographic ephemera, she constructs layered compositions that confront how desire, violence, and identity have been packaged and sold.
Her collages are both satirical and sacred, drawing from the compositional gravitas of religious iconography while lacing them with pop culture absurdity. Shea’s practice dissects nostalgia to expose its undercurrents of control… particularly in how femininity, masculinity, and intimacy are represented. Through strategic use of scale, repetition, and stark juxtapositions, her work critiques systems of power while reclaiming the visual space for feminist agency. She lives and works between the realms of visual pleasure and political confrontation.
Drawing from the rich symbolism of Byzantine iconography and the bold aesthetics of Pop art, Shea creates “Icons” - revered objects that demand adoration while critiquing patriarchal norms. Her choice of materials evokes pre-feminist histories, juxtaposing past and present to highlight both societal progress and persistent inequalities.
With a sharp, sarcastic use of color and a fearless embrace of provocation, Shea’s art reclaims feminist narratives through a lens of unapologetic sensuality. Her work has garnered attention for its subversive wit and ability to spark dialogue, inviting viewers to reconsider the intersections of desire, power, and art.