MASH Gallery is pleased to present “Muscle Memory,” a groundbreaking exhibition that celebrates queer art and explores the themes of intimacy, human emotions, and love among same-sex relationships. The exhibition showcases the works of several talented male queer artists who have skillfully incorporated elements of figurative art and historical references to create a new narrative that challenges societal norms.

Drawing inspiration from various eras of art, the artists featured in “Muscle Memory” have reimagined traditional figurative art by infusing it with a touch of intimacy and tenderness. Through their artworks, they explore the complex and beautiful relationships between men, presenting a fresh perspective on the male form and its representation in the art world.

Pink Kink David, 2024

Latex, spray paint, wood stain, charcoal, leather, rubber, metal jewelry on carved wood

115 1/2 x 59 x 43 inches

My recent month-long excursion across Italy, France and Monaco was used as inspiration when asked by MASH to create the largest possible sculpture to fit its gallery space as inspired by Michelangelo's David. Pink and Kink are accentuations included, representative of our current conditions - nods to advancements for embracing open sexuality and orientation. MASH had previously provided me with cedar planks previously used as a travel crate. I thought it appropriate to convey a contemporary version of David using these materials alongside our collaborative impetus. I often add sculptural elements to my paintings as relief for accentuating linework, thus, the finished work was left somewhat flat, with most ideal POVs focusing  forward and backward, leaving sides and interior exposed to show rough materiality psychologically resembling a cut-out paper doll for playful suggestion for more personal inquisitive interaction by viewers - all the time comparing and contrasting this with images of David imprinted in mind. The further incorporation of wooden studs, seemed appropriate as symbolical as well as structural.

Olympiatlas, 2024

Oil and spray paint on canvas with guided frame and plastic toys

31 x 42 inches

My initial intent was to invert roles of persons represented in Manet's Olympia. Many paintings exist beneath this final image. My brain for wanting to make a statement about race interfered with where my paintbrush kept moving. I relinquished control to see what might happen. Olympia's face both entranced and distracted me constantly, as did the way her hand was rendered so delicately upon her thigh. Inversions of black and white became more and more replaced by globs of color and line. Her muscles flexed so that I abandoned suppleness for a fevered dance of elbow strokes. I began looking at female muscle mags for inspiration. Notions of beauty and freedom in female strength overwhelmed me and the canvas.

The Proselytization of Prosthetics, 2024

Oil, marker ink, charcoal, colored pencil, spray paint on wood

18 1/4 x 16 1/2 inches

A reproduction of The Book of Hours (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1977) contains plates on adjacent pages depicting Portrait of René (left page) with Nativity (Holy Family) on the right. I combined the two pages into one image. I modified René's shawl to be the hand of Satan comforting him as he looks upon Mother and Child modified into the shape of a semi-flacid penis to symbolize my questioning of underlying religious motives. 

Viva Hate Back Tat Coverup, 2024

Oil, marker ink, graphite on paper

38 x 21 inches

A close friend commissioned me to cover up an old tattoo upon the middle of his back that read: VIVA HATE. Again, I opened up The Book of Hours for inspiration. Although I knew that this design as oil painting was not what he had in mind, inspiration and ideas ran away with me so that I conditioned God with more godly endowments, his angels trumpeting rainbows. Has God died (per Nietzsche), or instead become transformed like a butterfly to meet our contemporary needs and wants? Is that not the hoped for metamorphosis of us all?