Alannah Farrell — the sexual awakening to colors and hues, to kinks and dreams. This queer, trans-identifying artist from rural New York gracefully depicts the real bodies of their queer scene in atmospheric paintings, the magic of which stems from the shapely emotional nuances of each subject. Here, their struggles are visible, but so are the celebrations. Though currently represented by Harper’s and Anat Ebgi, they've had an enduring journey to their current career, beginning as a child yearning for a creative outlet, from babysitter, to cashier, to model, to dungeon domme, and later, Cooper Union graduate, allowing their art to leap from the confines of their bedroom to their first show at The Painting Center in New York. With the vibrant bodies and milky pigments enclosed in these works, Farrell expresses the multifaceted layers of their subjects’ queer identities, supporting the normalization of all expressions of beauty and power within the LGBTQI+ community. We see these queer bodies and faces through a lens unfocused on the taboo fascination that society perpetuates. It is one that instead centers the subject and how they wish to be seen and heard. Undoubtedly a New Yorker, Farrell pursues these intimate scenes and perseverances throughout the city with heart. They allow us, the viewers, into these blissful connections. We sat down with Farrell to discuss their expansive ideas surrounding queer identity in art, the fluidity of life, and their newest solo exhibition, I Want to Thank you, at Harper’s Gallery in New York. Read more.
Highlights From the Opening Night of the 2015 New York Art Book Fair Hosted By Printed Matter
This year's New York Book Fair, hosted by Printed Matter, officially starts today. It will run until September 20, 2015 at MoMA PS1. photographs by Tenlie Mourning
Playboy Calendars At The Harper's Books Pop Up at the Carlyle Hotel in New York
Harper's Books Anti-Fair will be on view until Friday, May 15 at the Carlyle Hotel in New York. photograph by Oliver Maxwell Kupper
Harper's Books Poolside Bungalow Exhibition @ Edition Hotel
Fascinating display of rare books and other ephemera at Harper Books' exhibition at Miami Beach Edition Hotel. Photography by Daisuke Yokota and art by Jesse Littlefield, Stewart Suttcliffe, Robert Whitman and more. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper