Nicolo Gentile, Davey and the Cruisers '90, Digital print on coated magazine paper, nickel-plated studs (9"x11" folded) $300

Nicolo Gentile is an artist working and living in Philadelphia. He received an MFA in Sculpture at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and a BFA from The Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Victorian College of the Arts. Gentile has exhibited both nationally and internationally, was a resident artist at the Leland Ironworks Residency and the Break Art Mix and is a guest lecturer at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Portland State University and The Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Artist statement:

I wish my PrEP medication made me feel like I was taking part in something, but so far it has only softened my bowels. This is not the fire in my belly I had anticipated. My work is an investigation of Queer radicalism, absence and ecstasy. From the gym to the showers, from the dancefloor to the bedroom, I examine the physical conditions of relational identity and sexuality construction. I am inspired by the materials and conditions of queer transgression which inform my sculpture and installations. Composed of leather, latex, iron and steel, my sculptures slip between recognizable materials of kink, industry and sport to address the oscillating power dynamics of gender and masculinities. My work aims to radicalize queerness through a collective mourning and the reanimation of spaces and experiences of the past for the critical reimagining of the future.