Mike Giant

Yogini

2017

"Shape" (2019) by Rebecca N. Johnson Figure drawing, nude portrait, female figure, ink and graphite on paper. Black and White, woman lounging, reclining, figurative, florals; contou...

The female figure in Oliver Benson's "Maid of Agora" is drawn in exquisite detail. On the reverse side, the artist has drawn another female figure. The artwork is not framed. Ple...

Rick Sindt's knowledge of the male physique is evident in this exquisite drawing of a nude male. The subject sits on the ground with his body twisted away from the viewer. We see the defined musculature of his posterior. The artwork is framed in white wood with a black mat. Rick Sindt The Body is a History graphite on archival paper 12h x 9w in 30.48h x 22.86w cm RIS026 Shifting the historic male gaze into a male-on-male gaze, this body of work anchors its exploration of queer culture in relationships and introspection. Beginning with a survey of several photo archives, I overwhelmingly encountered pictures that fit into two distinct categories: spectacular demonstrations or public displays of sexuality. All of these images were overtly political. Then, I began to find a subset of more intimate images. Typically, these were images submitted by loved ones or donated to foundations after someone’s death. These images depicted common, tender scenes. Working my way through these images, I reflected on D. A. Miller’s assertion that gay identity, to which we have entrusted our politics and ethics, stands in an essentially reductive relation to the queer desires on which it is based. And David Halperin’s argument that, “identity has become the preferred category for thinking about homosexuality. Moreover, it has been promoted at the direct expense of pleasure or feelings or subjectivity.” This left me asking the questions: how is queer culture transmitted if not genealogically? Is there a universal queer experience? What is queer sensibility and subjectivity and can it be visually represented? Rick Sindt b. 1990, Hastings, MN, EDUCATION 2013 North Park University, Chicago, IL - BFA Magna Cum Laude SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016 Two Countries, Rogue Philanthropy, Chicago, IL 2013 Tides, Erosion or Catch, Pull, Recover; The-One-Right-Now, North Park University; Chicago, IL GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2016 Are We Not of Interest to Each Other, Uptown Arts Center, Chicago, IL Reinventing Ourselves From Another Point-of-View, Contemporary Gallery at Zhou B. Arts Center, Chicago, IL Collective: Process, Beans and Bagels, Chicago, IL 2015 Collective: for(a)ging, Hammond Art Center; Hammond, IN How We Make It, The Arts of Life, Chicago, IL Collective: One, Albany Park...

"The Dance" by Ludovico Lipparini is a beautifully rendered work on paper in the classical tradition using graphite and gouache and created in the f...