Bio
Hunter Ridenour is a California native who grew up in a rural Central Valley town, and moved to San Francisco in 2010 where he received his BA in Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University. After rediscovering his love of photography and filmmaking he then went on to pursue and earned an MFA from San José State University in Photography in 2023. He is passionate about making people feel safe and seen when in front of the camera and capturing their best side. He is currently working on an exciting documentary series following different Bay Area artists called "Soft Focus”.
My multi-disciplinary practice explores the distortion of self-image, (mis)perception, and masculinity through photography, video, projection, and found objects. By constructing installations designed to elicit curiosity, confusion, and cross-examination, I’m questioning how we relate to ourselves and to our tools of image making and viewing. This art practice investigates the complex relationships between identity, perception, and the mechanisms through which we construct and consume visual representations of ourselves.
By employing diverse media and methodologies, the installations create spaces for interrogating the ways in which contemporary image-making technologies shape our understanding of self and other. Through deliberate distortion and conceptual juxtaposition, the work challenges viewers to examine their own perceptual habits and the assumptions embedded within our visual culture. The installations function as sites of inquiry, inviting audiences to consider the gap between how we see ourselves and how we are seen, while questioning the reliability of the tools and technologies that mediate these encounters.
Selected Work
