HICKEY irreverently presents tales of intimacy and identity through the works of six queer men. By using traditional mediums such as paint, paper, pencil and fiber, then subverting their applications, the artists in HICKEY simultaneously make light of and shine light on, the absurdities of finding one’s self and then sharing with another.
Characters, costumes, scenes and props emerge in operatic fashion to culminate in a narrative-driven exhibition. Vu-Dunn, Peng and Grebinski create whole worlds in their works where figures (and viewer) must address notions of longing, otherness, artificial beauty and voyeurism. Adrian and Woody bring us out of these worlds with their large scale totems to the self, made using dramatically intense processes. Welteroth’s hyper realistic sculptures and paintings feel like bizarre artifacts that source imagery from the 16th century to today’s dark corners of the internet.
Aphrodisiacs have been sculpted from paper. Furries fall in love lust. Dream homes become haunted houses. Floor to ceiling tapestries have been woven from hair. Voodoo dolls become dog toys. Beauty hurts. In an age where hetero normative social standards have begun to slip back into the LGBTQIA+ community, the artists in HICKEY stand by the strangeness that accompanies queerness.
Artists: Max Adrian, Kyle Vu-Dunn, Stephen Grebinski, Paul Peng, Curtis Welteroth & Justin Woody
Curated by Fred Blauth and Eric Anthony Berdis
Little Berlin 2430 Coral St, Philadelphia, PA 19125
On view: June 2nd-30th
Closing Reception: Saturday, June 30th, 6-9pm
Read the accompanying essay Him: You, Me: ME!!!
Fred Blauth 