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Ana Garces Kiley

Lullabies Never Lie

 

My work transforms the human body into a magical realist vessel for embodying archetypes of death, desire and our collective unconscious –those very things that make us most human and most enigmatic.  In response to a predominantly male depiction of sexuality throughout art history, as a woman I want to depict sexuality and sensuality from a feminine perspective.  Rejecting the traditional patriarchy of the canvas, I employ voile to unveil the complexity of our eph–emeral nature. My work has come off the wall to sit in the center of the room and is anchored to the ceiling with monofilament. I have stretched both sides with the voile as well as added an acrylic insert to create multiple layers including the viewers themselves which are visible as one stands on one side and looks through the piece.

 

 

 

 





Brian Seldt(USA)

Death and the Maiden- wood block print - 4 x 6

 

My work speaks of sex in the realm of fantasy combined with the attitudes currently accepted in society. In the comics genre, women are portrayed as big breasted and are objectified. The appeal is to the male libido and is meant to generate fantasies and boost sales. My piece "Double Dipped Perfect Pink" takes two female comic book heroes and places them in a lusty lesbian scene that mirrors this urge. In the pieces "Death and the Maiden", Stuffing", and "Lord, Your Children Are Having Sex With Spiders," I address the rampant promiscuity that is becoming socially acceptable behavior.

 

Holvoet7

Camille Holvoet, Studio Artist

Camille Holvoet was born in 1952 in San Francisco. She has been creating artwork at Creativity Explored since 2001. Holvoet’s preferred medium is oil pastel. Her pastels are rich blends of line and color, created with many overlapping layers. Her attention to spatial detail is evident in all of her art. Whether she is working on a small-scale drawing or a large-scale painting on canvas, the compositions are always well balanced and meticulously planned. The straightforward interior scenes are an especially interesting glimpse into Holvoet’s memory of her former years spent in an institution. Since she started at Creativity Explored, we have witnessed Holvoet working on a larger scale, experimenting with computer drawing media, and integrating text into her pieces. She enjoys using a Wacom tablet to create digital drawings that combine text and imagery. Her texts are often powerful and personal, drawing on memory and its anxieties; when juxtaposed with her beautiful renderings of desserts, the pieces take on new levels of meaning and resonance. Repeating elements in her work include cakes, cookies, fire, cross-eyed humans, Ferris wheels, and nudity. Each of these represent her emotions dealing with weight, aging, feeling marginalized and most prominently- her sexuality. For instance, her oft-used ‘cupcake’ icon serves as a metaphor for her own breasts.  To quote the artist, each cupcake looks as if “it is an upside-down titty with a cherry on top”. If you look closely, each of her cupcakes is adorned with a perfectly pink cherry.  Food has become a place of solace, if not obsession for Holvoet. Obsession translates to intense and deliberate art making. In viewing Holvoet’s work, her broad emotional capacity is evident, and often leaves the viewer in one of two states: hungry or horny

 

 

 

 

Danielle DeWitt (London, England)

Fritzl - 2009-2010 - graphic illustration


This is based on Josef Fritzl , the Austrian child abuser who kidnapped and molested his daughter. His head is attached to a cow's body, and he is gagged and bound as a horse. The work is a transformation from sexual predator to victim and addresses the popular opinion of hatred for this man after he was caught and imprisoned and how he has in a sense become his own victim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2004

David Brody (Seattle, WA, USA)

Untitled - 2004 - Oil on wood panel 8 x 6"

 

My work has long involved sexually explicit imagery. During 2003 and 2004 I produced a group of about 15 works painted directly from porn sites. I would set-up in front of the monitor and paint as prior generations may have done with a model.  One of the things I found was that a lot of the web images were not constructed particularly well in terms of color or value relationships – so I improved on what I found – America deserves visually astute porn. A century ago, Matisse drew from the model in the morning and then painted in the afternoon. The drawings were done observationally, the paintings were studio constructions done from the imagination. But the latter were influenced by the morning's observation. My small porn studies functioned similarly in my own practice - allowing the source material to permeate the greater studio project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fernandes4

Hugo Fernandes

My portraits of strange men from sex web sites are about a sense of non-acceptance in the gay community.  Although each individual I photograph experiences their own unique struggles, they are all united in their oppression as homosexual men. For a transient time each subject is my muse, after which they disappear back into the abyss they evolved from. Despite the loneliness that gay men endure, we are often quick to abandon others due to our fears: our fears of abandonment and our fears of shame. These fears often restrict us from relationships with others.  It comes as no surprise that gay men are often confused and unhappy individuals. The world fails to grant us equality. I want these photographs to express the emotions behind these simple, yet complicated encounters.  I am interested in the beauty of each man's body language and emotions within the landscape of their own space, in the presence of a foreign subject, which though still unusual, ceases to be uncomfortable in the world of online encounters. The images of these men are as much portraits of them as they are self-portraits. 

In photographing someone, there exists a bond between photographer and subject. Although my subjects allow me a level of both physical and emotional proximity to themselves and their homes, they present me with what they are willing to have me see, be it their home's décor, their vanity, or both.  They present me with the illusory life they have concocted in anticipation of my photographing them. They reveal themselves as they are wanting to be seen, their homes as they've prepared, their bodies as they've groomed them and their lives as the facade they've created either for myself, themselves, or both.  Illusory appearances are something of a gay tragedy.  So many gay men spend their limited money to liken themselves to appearances of wealth, whilst impoverished; it's a meager attempt at raising their confidence and being respected.With every subject I encounter, I am further empowered to describe this community of sexual outlaws, to strip them of the physical properties that are typical of a sexual moment and to then capture them in a moment that is both foreign and familiar. The images are often dark and melancholic, yet romantic and personal

 

 

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klai2

Kris Wlodarski (London, England)

Klai2 - 2010 - oils and acrylic on canvas - 100 x 120cm


I'm exploring the discourse of notions of excess (transgressive behaviour) and culture, and how it is manifested. In my work I make reference to philosophers like Georges Bataille (transgression, and his obsession with moments of 'madness' when the prison of reason is suspended) and Foucault (models of power, especially medical gaze, disassociation of body from person). I explore themes of sex and violence, their presence in contemporary visual culture, and how are they being justified or unjustified.

 

 

 

 

 

Souter1

Michelle Souter (London, England)

She's a big liar - 2009 - mono-print drawing on paper16.5 x 23.4

 

Michelle Souter's work is founded in life drawing; deforming and mutilating the traditional female figure with animalistic components, the repetition of genitalia and genital symbols and the inclusion of seemingly random text; lyrics from songs, personal memories or quotes taken out of context. To create her mono-prints Michelle Souter must draw in mirror image on the back of paper, which is pressed against an inked up board. In addition to drawing in reverse Souter uses her non-writing hand to draw her mono-prints. The results imbue Souter's work with a childlike aesthetic, suggesting a link to psychoanalytical practice, free association and sexual ambiguity.

Michelle Souter's work is founded in life drawing; deforming and mutilating the traditional female figure with animalistic components, the repetition of genitalia and genital symbols and the inclusion of seemingly random text; lyrics from songs, personal memories or quotes taken out of context. To create her mono-prints Michelle Souter must draw in mirror image on the back of paper, which is pressed against an inked up board. In addition to drawing in reverse Souter uses her non-writing hand to draw her mono-prints. The results imbue Souter's work with a childlike aesthetic, suggesting a link to psychoanalytical practice, free association and sexual ambiguity.

 

 

 

 

pic03

Nicola Bockelmann (UK)

PORN CHIC III - 2005 - acrylic and oil on canvas - 100 x 160 cm.

 

My art currently deals with the phenomenon of Porn Chic which is omnipresent in our society. Porn Chic evolved in the 90s when the media contributed to the sexualisation of culture. As a result the boundaries between pornography and culture became blurred and permeable and elements of pornography trickled into the mainstream. Because of its popularity, extension and impact, creating awareness of its existence is, in my opinion, of utmost importance. I aim to create awareness by blowing up Porn Chicimages from advertisements and painting them in a semi-photorealistic way on large size canvases whilst maintaining the figure's sense of distance and glam aethetics. Subtly created dissonances, such as an elongated limb or a slightly lopsided eye, exaggerate the characters' expressions and stereotypical personalities. This provokes thought processes and urges the viewer to question this everyday glossy explicitness.

 

 

 


 

 





forPme

Prince Vaughese Thomas

For PME - 2006 - digital photograph, chromogenic print - 45 X 45 each section

 

Fashion Accessories metaphorically conveys my interest in the intersection of popular culture, science, and commerce. In recent years, there have been several new drugs that have been released to the public which allow for various personal enhancements.  I have chosen these "designer drugs" as a departure point to create a body of work that metaphorically questions the use of pharmaceutical science and technology in our everyday lives.  With the assistance of these drugs are we removing the experiential part of living from the individual; or is it just another accessory:  a brush, a belt, a razor, and a pill.

 

 

 

Slumberparty

Richard Joel Bannister (UK)

Slumber Party - 2010 - oil and acrylic on paper - 84 x 59 cm

 

My practice is now in the process of exploring and investigating how the male can be represented, constructed and codified within contemporary society and culture, in relation to my fascination with images that evoke themes of power, desire and exploitation. I intend to examine, criticise and reflect upon the gaze, current belief systems, gender issues, politics, sexuality and identity to encourage and strengthen my approach, in order to confront existing expectations of male representation and definition. I believe that this will provide a valid framework and vocabulary to give constructive insight and intellect on the subjects of masculinity and male sexuality within current Western society and painting.

By referencing and expanding upon concepts derived from my personal experiences and cultures (such as working as a model in gay pornography & taking part in S&M activities as a means of direct artistic research), it is my goal to question and challenge stereotypes, push barriers and explore taboos in order to gain further understanding and meaning of how the male can be visually identified, interpreted and conceptually portrayed within the twenty-first century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hrvoje Slovenc

October Bliss - 2010 - photography - 30 x 65

I am interested in life as a form of theater, particularly in ways domestic space has been acted in and acted upon. I am intrigued by the "scenes" that people construct in their homes with all their semiotic referents not just to their individual pleasures but, more importantly, to the ones that are socially prescribed. What fascinates me is the subtle mix between the notions of fantasy and reality; the constructed and the found; as well as performed and lived experience. In the series Home Theater I am photographing domestic spaces in which sadomasochistic sex acts are taking place. The predilections of sex in this work metaphorize the other aspects of our lives that are so highly ritualized.

 

 

 


 
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