RACHEL BRITTON and ORPHEUS “Underworld”

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday 17th April from 6-9p
ON VIEW THROUGH 28th APRIL BY APPOINTMENT: +1 213 250 1685

Tom of Finland Foundation is proud to present Underworld, a new exhibition of work by current Artists-in-Residence Rachel Britton and Orpheus.

While their artistic practices are vastly different—Britton making vibrant digital photographic collages and Orpheus creating traditional oil paintings in the style of European painters of the seventeenth century—they both share a fascination with the dark and visceral underbelly of contemporary Queer sexuality.

Britton’s composite photographs explore the tension between desire and repulsion. Britton’s photographs are meticulously handcrafted, countering the increasing ubiquity of A.I. imagery. She begins by photographing the human body for texture then stitches the images together layer by layer in Adobe Photoshop to create grotesque yet compelling visions that blur the boundary between fantasy and reality.

Orpheus’ oil paintings capture flashbulb moments of intense sexual desire evoking anonymous encounters in sex clubs, faceless apartments and hotel rooms familiar to many Gay men. However, his techniques, materials, compositions and moods draw from art history, recalling baroque painters such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt in a bold celebration of raw, Gay sexuality.

The evening will also see Orpheus launch his new book Underworlds, while attendees enjoy music by Mellow Code.