From Meghan Hendley-Lopez’s interview with Jan Rattia for Free Press Houston:
Delving beyond the typical definition of portrait photography, artist Jan Rattia is able to capture the subtle essence and underlying narrative of his subjects. The end result is something modernly mythical and rather orphic in nature, asking for a viewer to see beyond the title and profession of the person at hand. In his latest show, “Tease,” recently featured at the Houston Center for Photography, Rattia presents his work in portraiture based on the male stripper industry, an industry loaded with preconceived notions and biases. As the recipient of the 2017 Carol Crow Memorial Fellowship at HCP, Rattia uses this exhibition to fully display his mastery of mood and meaning. Cinematic in presentation, it offers more than just a face in a setting.