ERIK PATTON: Metasexuals

March 6 – March 29, 2014

Opening reception Friday, March 7th from 6 to 9PM Amos Eno Gallery is pleased to present Metasexuals, the third solo exhibition of member Erik Patton. Patton’s work explores the performance, construction and deconstruction of sex, gender and sexuality with the goal of refuting this triad’s perceived fixity through ambiguity and play. Patton strives to create new beings not constrained by sexual or gender-based identities, termed “metasexuals,” from which the exhibition takes its name.

Metasexuals features several series of Patton’s newest work. Plexi Collages consists of photographs of three dimensional collages the artist creates through projecting images from a database onto friends. These photographs, in turn, are the basis for additional collages and sculptures that can be performed. In Reflections and Asses, Patton boldly explores the ambiguity of male identity through photographic juxtaposition of reflections, pornography, and portraiture. Retail!, consisting of loosely worn and easily exchanged paper wearables, is meant to highlight both the ambiguous space where sex and gender live, and present and subvert the readymade body while also commenting on the consumerism of sex in our culture. Ultimately, Patton’s work speaks to the contemporary collective need to be more open to the complexities of gender sexuality.

Patton earned a BA from Harvard College in 2003, and is currently completing his MFA in Visual Arts at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY). His work has been featured in numerous New York City venues such as Art Flux, MoMA PS1 studio visit, the Governor’s Island Art Fair, and the ISE Cultural Foundation as well as other places as far away as the Houston Fine Arts Fair in Houston, TX. Patton has a studio in Manhattan, where he currently lives.

Images, from left to right: Pussy Earing (Miatta), Dick Bolo (Erik), Puss Patch (Michael), Dick Headband (Ray), and Third Eye Puss (Margot) from the Retail! series, 2013