A new queer art exhibition in Kensington redefines masculinity through photos and soft lighting

What does it mean to be masculine right now The word traditionally has been associated with strength assertiveness dominance and leadership These days however this definition is being questioned as insufficient rigid and sometimes even harmful It s common to see another word toxic in front of it A new exhibition at the InLiquid Gallery in Olde Kensington In the Soft Light offers its own powerful take of what masculinity can look like The show s walls are covered in photos from three queer photographers of different generations T W Moore German Ayala Vazquez and Robert Carter who highlight the male form through a gentle and intimate lens From the ceiling hangs sculptural chandeliers from Michael Biello another LGBTQ artist who literally brings the soft light into the room Artwork from visual artist photographer writer and educator Robert Carter Courtesy of InLiquid The idea for the exhibition first came about two years ago after InLiquid displayed a collection of Biello s pieces from the s The goal was to curate an exhibition centered around masculine love intimacy and tenderness We yearned to pair other artists with Michael and bring that theme to life declared Andreina Mijares Cisneros the show s curator and InLiquid offerings coordinator It was crucial to show masculinity through the lens of these three photographers who are queer and gay identified Visitors gather around a chandelier from artist Michael Biello a ceramic sculptor who helped create the revivals of Old City Philadelphia in the s Courtesy of InLiquid You see work that is new from she mentioned as well as work from the s showcasing a moment in which the AIDS epidemic was at its peak The idea of using lamps dimmers and soft lighting instead of stark overhead fixtures has in itself become associated with gay aesthetics in pop tradition Biello s sculptural chandeliers are whimsical involving elements like hanging beads monkey figurines and forms inspired by Italian architecture Moore Ayala Vazquez and Carter each have a different approach to capturing the male body in their photos but throughout their work skin is celebrated and on display T W Moore Feeling It The men in the photographs are fit and muscular Particular of them pose like pin-up figures while others wear luxurious fabrics and expensive-looking jewelry Various male bodies aren t clothed at all Still while the show has erotic elements it is not shocking or hypersexual Instead each male body feels as if it s treated with delicacy and care The viewer is here to take in beauty We don t often get to see how gay men and queer-identifying men see their partners and how they find sensuality in the male body Mijares Cisneros noted I think that that s mostly been reserved for the woman Michael Biello Seesaw Monkey Chandelier You know as a gay man I totally am drawn to the masculine just by nature commented Moore a longtime collaborator of Biello s The whole show celebrates beauty as a concept a valid concept for artwork Particular of Moore s photographs in the gallery date back to the s Others are from the last five years He has lived through two very different pandemics both of which play a role in the show Earlier images feature soft black-and-white portraits of men with their faces obscured appearing almost ghostlike His more fresh photos involve interspersed collages of male bodies and nature It could be part of nature or it s one with nature Moore revealed For example one photograph created shortly after the COVID pandemic he explained symbolized that moment of deterioration but also hope and people helping each other Trees are sort of like relationships bound together Photography from German Ayala Vazquez Julia Binswanger Billy Penn While Moore s color palette leans soft and ethereal the works of Ayala Vazquez and Carter burst with saturated colors Ayala Vazquez s color photography is lush with certain subjects staged to seem as if they are in a Garden of Eden Even his black-and-white work feels striking defined by stark contrast One model s body is ink-black posing powerfully against a bright white backdrop Even when models in this show stand in softer delicate elegant stances words typically associated with the feminine they remain masculine Carter hopes that photography in general will be honored and elevated to the level of classical paintings I studied old masters and grew up around a lot of color disclosed Carter who is And so I try to incorporate vibrancy depth and richness of color in a lot of my work Even if there s a lot of darkness there s still selected pops of reds and blues Carter draws inspiration from classical paintings for his photography Courtesy of InLiquid One of his photographs a picture of a Black man in a luxurious velvet blue turban and pearls draped around his neck evokes a Vermeer I hope that people appreciate that photography and traditional fine arts like painting share a lot of similarities he noted I think of it as painting with just a different medium and I hope people can walk away feeling like they ve received something vibrant and meaningful In the Soft Light is open now and runs until May at the Crane Arts Building The show is a love letter to masculinity from different generations of queer men Moore has drawn influence from both the COVID- the AIDS pandemics for his pieces Courtesy of InLiquid I sought to show that there s a lot of tenderness in loving a man Mijares Cisneros stated Not necessarily from another gay man but as a whole I think that there can be softness there can be tenderness that exists and not only in gay relationships To artists like Moore celebrating male bodies in this way couldn t come at a better moment It s definitely the time of the manosphere Moore declared You know men are on the rise It s the tough man It s the manly man and I think what I m attempting to do here is to show the other side of the manly man The post A new queer art exhibition in Kensington redefines masculinity through photos and 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