Show Prep and breaking free..
As I get ready for my upcoming solo exhibition, “VISCERAL DESIRES,” at KORE Gallery, I wanted to share some behind-the-scenes prep that goes into a show. It’s months (and honestly, years) of time poured into creating an exhibition. While I’ve had the date set with the gallery (the opening reception is Saturday, June 6th, 2026) for over a year now, I didn’t really start diving into it until the beginning of this year—although I’ve been thinking about it constantly and working on some of the pieces since last summer. Unfortunately for me, I tend to work best under pressure…
Blank gallery walls = unlimited possibilities, but with some constraint (e.g. space)
My Official Show Flyer I created
“Visceral” describes deep, instinctive emotional reactions felt in the body—“gut feelings”—rather than through intellectual reasoning. It implies a raw, profound response: visceral anger, fear, excitement. “Desire” means a strong feeling of wanting, wishing for, or craving something, often tied to the intention to attain it. It represents a conscious pull toward pleasure or satisfaction, ranging from a simple wish to intense passion or sexual urge.
Putting these two words together felt like it perfectly captured what I’ve been unconsciously doing across all of my practices. More on that below…
Starting a new work
Not sure if it will make it into the show or not, but better to have options then not.
Once I locked in the show title, the next steps were the artist statement and deciding which pieces to include. I’ve used Photoshop in the past to map out shows, but I’ve found it’s not always the best solution in the end. For this exhibition, I’m going to rely more on the gallery to help select which pieces work best together and how they should be laid out—of course, with my final approval. One piece of feedback (or complaint?) from my last show was that it felt a bit overwhelming, both in the amount of work and the intensity of the imagery. Taking that into consideration—and in hopes of offering a wider price range to make the work more accessible—I’ve decided to include framed original drawings and a new mixed-media collage series I’m calling “Cultural Sediments.” I think these additions will help “break up” the space between paintings—allowing me to fill the gallery while also showing a fuller spectrum of my practice.
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So, what exactly is VISCERAL DESIRES about?
With the help of countless revisions and ChatGPT (oh no!), here’s what I have so far:
SNEAK PEAK
A framed “Cultural Sediment” piece and an original drawing
“Visceral Desires encompasses works that showcase my instinctual art style alongside the raw, projected subject matter of the male form. As a gay man, I explore masculinity through desire, intimacy, and emotional complexity, expressed through fragmented representations of the male body shaped by psychological tension and social exchange. Drawing on deconstructed visual languages associated with Pablo Picasso and George Condo, as well as the immediacy of street art, I construct figures through loose, gestural mark-making and assertive line work, compressed within vivid, densely textured fields of color. Each work carries its own narrative, driven by emotional intensity and a sense of unresolved tension.
Complementing the figurative works, my Cultural Sediments series expands these themes through material exploration and historical reference. In this body of work, I repurpose vintage gay adult magazine imagery, layering it onto painted canvases that mimic the weathered surfaces of urban walls. Through tearing, sanding, and staining, the figures appear partially eroded—like posters exposed to time, environment, and repeated removal. By transforming once-private images of desire into public, decaying remnants, the work reflects the accumulation and erosion of cultural memory, particularly the shifting ideals of masculinity within the gay community and the lingering nostalgia tied to earlier visions of the idealized male body.
While the exhibition is grounded in figurative imagery, a selection of abstract works further expands my exploration of instinct and emotional response. Although these pieces do not directly confront masculinity through the body, they are created through a similar process of intuitive reaction to the canvas. I rely on visceral mark-making while also embracing time as an essential component of the work, layering countless washes of paint and manipulating the surface as it dries. Through this prolonged engagement, color, texture, and gesture emerge through physical interaction with the canvas. While absent from the figure, the palette and physical approach remain informed by a masculine sensibility—expressed through earth tones, rusted hues, and mineral-based colors drawn from industrial landscapes and natural elements. The resulting compositions reflect an emotional language rooted in atmosphere, memory, and physical sensation.
Collectively, the works in Visceral Desires examine the male body, the built environment, and abstract form as interconnected sites of emotion and memory. Through fragmentation, layering, and expressive gestures, I explore how desire, identity, and experience leave lasting impressions on both surface and psyche. The exhibition ultimately invites viewers to confront the rawness of instinct, reconsider ideals of masculinity, and recognize beauty not only in control and perfection, but in tension, erosion, and transformation.”
Take that as you will. Honestly, I (like most artists) hate writing statements about my work. We’re visual creatures, not verbal ones—yet for some reason, people and galleries insist we try. I know there are plenty of concerns around AI, but I have to admit, it’s been a huge help when it comes to translating what I’m trying to say into something readable.
“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” ~ Pablo Picasso
As I write this, I still have a solid chunk of unfinished work sitting in my studio, waiting to be resolved. I have a handful of paintings that feel “done” and will definitely be in the show, but there are still about 5–8 pieces that may or may not make it into the final exhibition. I probably won’t know for sure until a month from now, when I run out of time and have to drop everything off at the gallery. And because of work obligations, I won’t even be able to fully finalize the hanging until the night before the opening.
Wish me luck. More importantly, if you’re reading this, I hope you can make it to the opening reception on Saturday, June 6th (2026) at KORE Gallery (Louisville, KY). The exhibition will run through July 5th.
Now I need to get back to work—there’s a lot to be done.
I’ll leave you with some “process” shots I’ve documented over the past couple of months. For more, follow along on social media (mostly Instagram and Facebook, with the occasional TikTok). I tend to share stories almost daily from the studio.
Enjoy—and I’ll see you soon with a follow-up post after the opening…
