Hey guys I have two of my sculptures published in the book Treasures of Gay Art, a publishing of The Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation. The new book, as the unparalleled collection of conspicuously gay art debuts in print for the first time. Designed and printed in Italy, the publication was guided by renowned curator Peter Weiermair exclusively for The Foundation. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, water colours, photographs and prints from Jean Cocteau to Andy Warhol.

In conjunction with the much-anticipated publication of Treasures of Gay Art from the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation we are proud to present an exhibition of many of the artworks that appear in the book.

Copies of the book, Treasures of Gay Art from the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation, will also be available for purchase.
http://www.leslielohman.org/

By Alex Bacon

With the Foundation's history of nearly twenty years in the service of LGBT art and artists, the coming of the new book Treasures of Gay Art from the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation's Permaent Collection has been long overdue. Eminent museum director, curator, art writer and publisher Peter Weiermair has undertaken the task of selecting some of the best works in the Foundation's collection for inclusion in this book which will chart, in stunning reproductions, the legacy of LGBT artists which the founders have been collecting for over fifty years. The book is framed by an introduction by founders Fritz Lohman and Charles Leslie, and three essays: one by Peter Weiermair; another by noted art historian James Saslow on the current and potential impact of Leslie/Lohman's work on both the LGBT and straight communities; and another by Allen Ellenzweig on photography in LLGAF's collection. This makes the book an excellent addition to the Foundation's ever growing list of publications.

What is most evident from looking at the works included, and the essays which accompany them, is that a wealth of art has been created by LGBT artists in the modern era. Of course, the real value of an institution like the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is that, without it, much of this excellent work would have been destroyed by hostile elements. In their introduction, Charles and Fritz tell of how one of the primary catalysts for the creation of the Foundation was to try to ensure that this kind of art- often denigrated as "gay" and "erotic" and thus constantly in peril of destruction and erasure-had a place where it was preserved and given the recognition it deserved in the history of art.

James Saslow, in his moving essay, expands on this theme by discussing the context and legacy of the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation in American society. Using a narrative of his family's, and his own, experiences with sexuality and visual culture since the late 19th century, Saslow reveals the political importance of works by queer artists, with openly queer themes, in shaping the beliefs of mainstream America about the role and treatment of queer men and women in our society. Saslow makes a powerful argument that what might really be the most important job of Leslie/Lohman, and by extension this book, is the documentation for a new generation of queer children and their straight peers, friends and family of the existence, viability and importance of LGBT artists and their art.
Alex Bacon is a senior in the Art History department at MSU, Ann Arbor. As an intern at LLGAF over the summer of 2006 he conducted research for Treasures of Gay Art from the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation's Permanent Collection.

To reserve your copy at reduced prices call
212-431-2609 or email:admin@leslielohman.org
http://www.leslielohman.org/index.html

MF Gallery, NYC's Underground Pop Art Gallery is opening a location In Genova Italy!

Over 20 International Artists will be showing in this Inaugural exhibit on Jan 10, 2009

The original MF Gallery opened it's doors in June 2003 on New York City's Lower East Side. It quickly became a meeting point, where all kinds of misfit artists, hipsters, punks and art collectors could enjoy new art, never knowing when to expect appearances by Zombies, Monsters or Mega-Sized Robots playing Death Metal!

MF Gallery's Martina and Frank Russo wanted to open a gallery showing what they loved: illustration based art, inspired by Tattoos, Comics, Horror and Toys; (Now known as "pop surrealism" or "lowbrow art") something New York City was lacking at the time. Their goal had always been to show work by more well-known names in the genre, alongside the best newcomers from around the world, while making the art accessible and affordable to people of all kinds.

In January 2009, exactly five and a half years after the first MF Gallery opening, Martina and Frank are bringing the art to Italy… They feel that Genova is ready for something new- this will be the next city to be taken over by The MF Art Movement!

For this special inaugural show, they will be introducing many of the American artists they love, and also bringing together artists from Genova, around Italy and other parts of Europe. Over 20 international artists will show their work in Genova, (many of them for the first time!) in this historic MF Gallery event.

Please join us for the Opening Reception on Saturday January 10th, 2009 from 7 to 11pm at MF Gallery Genova: Vico Dietro Il Coro Della Maddalena 26a Genova, Italy 16122. Many of the artists will be present. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free and open to the public of all ages.

For high resolutiontion photos, to set up interviews, for more information or directions, please contact Martina or Frank. Email: info@MFgallery.net NY phone: 917-446-8681 GE Phone: 347-757-7178

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Martina Secondo Russo (Italy/U.S.A.) was born in Genoa, Italy but has lived in New York City for most of her life. She paints both on canvas, and on plywood cut into the shapes of limbs and full human bodies. Her work is inspired by: horror, tattoos, toys, renaissance art, pin-up art, and the juxtaposition of beauty with the grotesque.

Frank Russo (U.S.A.) is a Brooklyn Artist who has been drawing comic books since the age of nine. His art fuses a life-long love for trash culture and fast music with a wide variety of styles and media such as comics, paintings, toys, props and costumes.

Elizabeth McGrath (U.S.A.) is one of her generation's more unique and prolific artists. Based in Los Angeles, she creates in a number of mediums and materials with undeniable artistry and immagination. She is also the frontwoman of the band Miss Derringer, who performed in Genova in 2006.

Dave Brockie (U.S.A.) is the frontman and founder of the notorious theatrical heavy metal band, GWAR. For over 25 years, he has been creating artwork in various mediums; including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, costumes and performance art. In 2004, MF Gallery held a retrospective of his life's work.

Lisa Petrucci (U.S.A.) is best known for painting on souvenir wooden plaques... Each slab of wood is lovingly painted with the things she enjoys most such as cute pinups, sexploitation beauties and kitch imagagery; and celebrate sexuality, femininity and all that is cute.

Ed Repka (U.S.A.) is the undisputed king of Thrash Metal Art. He is best known for creating Megadeth's legendary character, "Vic Rattlehead" in the 1980's, and for his work with numerous other Thrash bands since then. He descibes himself as a "connosieur of the grotesque, specializing in menacing reminders of the impending apocalypse".

Angie Mason (U.S.A.) creates in her paintings a vibrant visual playground where her melancholy menagerie of characters and worlds exist. Her work is a funny, whimsical, dark and tragic view at the wonderful mess of life.

Mark Riddick (U.S.A.) has been illustrating for the extreme heavy metal music scene since 1991. He has had several books of his art published, and has shown at galleries around the world.

Mary Doyle (U.S.A.) uses toys and imagery associated with childhood to elicit an immediate emotional reaction. She uses clowns to express the complexities of human interaction. Her artwork expresses repressed emotions by recalling the emotional intensity of childhood while revealing the ugliness beneath adult facades.

Fernando Carpaneda (Brazil/U.S.A.) is an artist born in Brasília, Brazil. He works with clay sculptures. His main theme is always the human being. Fernando makes portraits of rent boys, punks, junkies, thieves and outcasts. He believes that the artist himself is a piece of art.

Aya Kakeda (Japan/U.S.A.) was born and raised in Tokyo Japan. She now works and lives in Brooklyn, New York. When she doesn't indulge in her obsessions she paints, draws, prints and emboiders, creating her own whimsical narratives.

Drew Maillard (U.S.A.) uses layers of chicken scratch cross-hatching over watercolor to make formal almost static compositions, evoking the oppressive itchiness of a strait jacket. He combines iconic and absurd images to create ironic and satirical compositions.

Jaz Harold (U.S.A.) is a New York based illustrator and gallery artist whose work is a combination of the beautiful and the macabre, often with a twist of humor or sarcasm.

Alonso Estrada / The Death Head (Mexico/U.S.A.) grew up in Mexico and found inspiration for his artwork from the Day of the Dead holiday traditions, also embracing the Punk Rock movement's attitude. He Expresses these interests in his art, while interpreting the brutal, primal and animalistic side of the human form.

Jenny Harada (U.S.A.) likes taking something cute and colorful and turning it into something completely disturbing. She creates all sorts of furry creatures out of shag fabric, both as 3-D plushes and as fabric "paintings"

Nicoz Balboa (France/Italy) was born in Rome. She now resides in La Rochelle, France, where she is the founder and director of the True Hate Gallery. Her comics and illustrations have appeared in various magazines and publications. She often collaborates with rock bands on album art and posters.

Cecilia Granata (Italy) was born in Verona, Italy, grew up in Milan, and has lived and worked in New York City. Her work is influenced by music, philosophy, horror movies, romantic literature, expressionism, comics, cartoons and vegan treats.

Ciou (France/Belgium) comes from Toulouse, the pink city of south of France, and now spends her time between Paris and Bruxelles. Her artwork is cute and scary, a mixed between wonderland and nightmare. She is interested in primitive art, religious art, japanese culture, dolls, pin ups, cemeterys, carnivals and freaks.

Macchiavello (Italy) is a Genovese Cartoonist and Animator with a unique and unmistakable style. After studying at the Scuola del Fumetto in Chiavari, and the Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti in Genova, he has been awarded numerous prizes for his work, and has achieved international notoriety for his Ceres Beer spots.

Riot Queer (Italy) is an Italian queer underground painter. His work is influenced by Mexican folk art, American independent comics, American 50's tattoo, Horror Punk, fetishism and splatter movies. He is the founder of the Italian "Punk Surrealism" group.

Luca Crema (Italy) is a painter, writer, poet and artist. HIs life runs on a wave of aesthetics, and nothing can distance him from the manic precision with which he interprets and illustrates his dreams.

Massimo Gurnari (Italy) creates artwork by melding his street art experience with themes from Art History. All his work is aimed to create a big box of memorabilia where present and past can co-exists.

Mattia Paco Rizzi / Linguamara (Italy) presents a postmodern vision of man and his relationship with nature and the world around him. He lives, studies and works in Genova, Italy.

Morg (Italy) is an Italian female painter and tattoo artist living and working in Genova. Her inspiration comes from nature, anatomy, old prints, graphic art, horror and surrealism.

I will be showing my "Charlie,the Gay Dolls" in the Bridge Art Fair during Art Basel with "The Barbara Ann Levy Gallery" Please drop by our room if your down at the fairs.

The Bridge Art Fair-Wynwood, Miami, Florida
BOOTH 8-Wynwood

The Barbara Ann Levy Gallery has been invited to be a participant in The Bridge Art Fair in the Wynwood section of Miami from December 2-8th, 2008.

BRIDGE MIAMI-WYNWOOD
Building on two highly successful years in Miami Beach, Bridge is pleased to announce our inaugural Bridge Miami Wynwood, offering collectors, art professionals and visitors a boutique-style booth fair easily accessible in the heart of Midtown Miami. Taking place concurrently with Bridge Miami Beach, Bridge Miami Wynwood marks a significant expansion of Bridge's presence at the global art fair market that converges in Miami every December.

Bridge Miami Wynwood will feature the best in international emerging art, presented in a modular, museum-grade exhibition space, built on a 60,000 square foot development in Miami Midtown at NE 1st Avenue and NW 34th Street, immediately adjacent to Art Miami, Photo Miami and AIPAD, and centrally located between Scope, Pulse and Aqua. In addition to a spectacular booth fair, Bridge Miami Wynwood will also showcase an outdoor sculpture project. Located just off the Julia Tuttle Causeway, Bridge Wynwood will greet visitors crossing the bridge from South Beach at the entryway to Midtown Miami's art fair circuit and through to the Design District.

The following artists will exhibit their work in The Barbara Ann Levy Gallery BOOTH 8:

Fernando Carpaneda,Ron Amato, Aileen Boyce, Mac Chambers, Koushal Choudry, Eric Davis, Giovanni di Mola, Dan Evans, John Leung, Alejandro Lorenzo, Charles McGill, Diana Milia, Adrian Milton, Eric Rhein, Albert Schweitzer, Jason Seder, Mark Soppeland, James Teschner, George Towne, Virginia Trembles and Ande Whyland.

Bridge Art Fair: http://www.bridgeartfair.com/eblasts/miami/BAFmiamiblast.html

WHAT: MF Gallery's Sixth Annual Halloween Art Show
WHERE: ITM Lounge 463 West Broadway New York, NY 10012
WHEN: Opening Party, Saturday September 20th 7-10 PM. Show runs Sept
20th–Nov 2nd

It's almost that time of year again… Time for MF Gallery's Sixth
Annual Halloween Art Show. This year, we are doing it in SoHo!

As many already know, June 2008 marked the closing of MF Gallery's Rivington Street location. As we prepare for our grand reopening in Gowanus, Brooklyn, MF Gallery is helping to launch a brand new art space: ITM Lounge, upstairs at I Tre Merli on West Broadway in SoHo.

SoHo has long been a significant neighborhood for New York City's Art Community. I Tre Merli Restaurant opened in the mid-1980's when the SoHo scene was thriving. Many "Art Stars" of the time, such as Andy Warhol, Peter Max, Keith Haring, and others were regulars at the bar.

With The Sixth Annual Halloween Art Show, MF Gallery will bring back a bit of the Underground Art flavor that the neighborhood has lately traded in for designer boutiques and chain stores.

This year's Halloween Art Show will include artists such as: Martina & Frank Russo Elmer Presslee, Chad Savage, Nicoz Balboa, Kevin Klemm, Joe Simko, Drew & Greg Maillard, Fernando Carpaneda, Moses Jaen, Death Head, Alex
Macchiavelli, Mike Annechiarico, James Wrona, Inky Dreadfuls, Ciou, & Many More!

The Opening Party, on Saturday September 20, 2008 will be a Rock N Roll Bash! Horror Movies will be projected on a giant screen, DJ Justin will play a Death Metal Soundtrack, drinks and refreshments will be served, and costumes are greatly encouraged: anyone who comes in a Halloween Costume will get a complementary drink! Admission is free and open to all ages, no RSVP required.

MF Gallery's Sixth Annual Halloween Art Show is at ITM Lounge: 463 West Broadway between Houston and Prince Streets. There are many subways close by: the N/R to Prince, the 6 to Spring, the C/E to Spring or the 1/9 to Houston. Gallery viewing hours are everyday from 12 noon to 12 midnight. To set up a guided visit, for additional information, or to request high resolution images, contact Martina or Frank at (917)446-8681 or info@MFgallery.net
 

The Cherry Grove Art Walk TM-2008

The Cherry Grove Art Walk TM-2008 will be held this year on September 5-7th in Cherry Grove, NY on The Fire Island National Seashore. Visitors and residents to this predominantly summer seasonal resort community will have the opportunity to view some of the best emerging contemporary Fine Art from the NYC and Long Island artist communities. They will be able to listen to artists talk about their artwork. Artwork will be exhibited in seaside homes and on decks.

Three Cherry Grove Art Walk guides will lead the tours: Dan Evans, Philadelphia art historian, artist, art critic and writer for The Fire Island Tide, Peter Downes, Deputy Director of The Brooklyn Museum and Sherman Clarke, Head of Original Cataloging at New York University Libraries.

There will be a kick-off event to be held at "Beau Men" on Duryea Walk Friday night from 6-9PM in Cherry Grove, NY sponsored by Steaz, an organic green tea energy drink that has been USDA approved and a fair trade company.

PARTICIPANT BIOS

BARBARA ANN LEVY-Founder of The Cherry Grove Art Walk TM

Barbara Ann Levy is the Founder and Coordinator of The Cherry Grove Art Walk TM-2008 and is the Owner and President of The Barbara Ann Levy Gallery, www.balgallery.com, an 's-corporation' in the state of NY.

For nine years Ms Levy owned and managed two contemporary Fine Art galleries located in storefronts in Cherry Grove, NY on The Fire Island National Seashore and in the arts district in Chelsea, NYC, NY. Gallery shows have received reviews from important critics from major art publications such as Art In America, Art News, Art On Paper, The New Yorker Magazine, The New York Observer, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Fire Island News and The Fire Island Tide. It has shown the artwork of over 90 artists and has given choreographers, writers and poets a place to showcase their work.

Barbara is an accomplished artist, painter and photographer in her own right with an extensive art exhibition history, an arts educator who has taught studio Fine Arts skills as well as trained Art Therapy students in undergraduate and graduate college and university programs nationwide at The School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute and Hofstra University in NY, Springfield College in Massachusetts and recently for AHEC in Doral Florida. She is licensed by the state of New York as a Creative Arts Therapist and won the prestigious New York Art Therapy Association Pam Clark Distinguished Service Award. She has worked with psychiatric populations and substance abusers in recovery using art therapy as a treatment modality. She has also conducted Grand Round lectures and workshops on Art Therapy in hospitals in NYC and Brooklyn, NY.

Barbara has a deep and abiding commitment to support and nurture the enrichment of the human spirit made manifest in 'good works', transformative ones and in this case Fine Art. She has shown her artwork in corporate settings and was invited by The Juvenile Justice Department in NYC to donate her artwork to their permanent collection. She has shown her art in non profit artist run organizations like Artist Space in NYC and in gallery settings like The Jock Truman Gallery formerly in NYC.

Ms. Levy believes that through art, the enrichment of humanity and eventual individual and community self-realization is entirely possible. She states, "Art creates community. It is a centering device like a potter's wheel in times of reorganization and transformation. Just look at public art like The Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC or the recent on-site art project "The Gates" by Christo in NYC. Through sharing experiences of art, viewers have found they have something essential in common, their humanity and are more alike than they are different. Art helps to organize people and communities. The act of viewing artwork with others is like the tradition of "breaking bread" in communion and celebration".

WALK GUIDES:

SHERMAN CLARKE

Sherman Clarke is an art librarian and cataloger currently working as Head of Original Cataloging at New York University Libraries. He earlier worked at the Amon Carter Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, Cornell University, and the University of Pittsburgh. He is active in the Art Libraries Society of North America, the Visual Resources Association, the College Art Association, and the Society of Architectural Historians. He has been the co-editor of the Queer Caucus for Art Newsletter for about a dozen years, compiling a booklist and calendar for each issue. In 2006, Sherman was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Art Libraries Society of North America.

DAN EVANS

Dan Evans taught Art History for over 34 years at Adelphi University, Garden City, Long Island and Community College of Philadelphia.

During that time he gave numerous tours at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the Univ. of Pennsylvania and many others. He also gave lectures at The College Art Association, the Popular Culture Association on many topics, ranging from the art of Frida Kahlo, Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence, to the art of the North American Indians.

His art criticism has been printed in magazines and newspapers including the Arts Exchange (Philadelphia) and the Fire Island Tide.

PETER DOWNES

Peter Downes, a Long Island native, has been working for the past five years at the Brooklyn Museum in the areas of Administration and Institutional Advancement.

Peter served on the Advisory Board of All-City, an ongoing citywide exhibition on the history of Graffiti Art and was one of the founders of Island Repertory Theatre Company, a not-for-profit theatre organization on Fire Island where he is also currently on the Board.

Peter graduated from The State University of New York, College at Oneonta with a BS in Art History and attended City University of New York where he received the MA in Art History.

ARTISTS:

DAN EVANS

"The outsider art work of Dan Evans is full of surprises.

In his "View of Toledo" bright red and lavender roofs pull

the viewer into a world of saturated color. Dr. Louise Resden

has described the surrounding trees in "Bradley Near the Sunken

Forest" as having a 'nightmare intensity.' In other paintings,

gargoyles and fountains compete for the mysterious space within the

paintings, as do the amazing colors and dense patterns.

Though the sensibilities of Neo-Expressionism and such

artists as Basquiat could be seen as influences, these

works are original in style and intent. Evans says he wants

his vibrant colors, textures and size distortions to startle,

challenge and delight viewers." *

*Dr. Louise Resden is a PhD, and author of articles on

many subjects, including paintings done in the time of John Milton.

STEPHEN TASHJIAN

Stephen Tashjian will be a lead artist who will exhibit a group of pop inspired pieces at Cielo e Mar for The Cherry Grove Art Walk tm-2008

Stephen Tashjian is an American artist. His drag queen character Tabboo! became known in the East Village underground scene of New York City in the 1980s. He is also a puppeteer, painter and singer.

Tashjian attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where he became friends with fellow students Nan Goldin and Jack Pierson. He moved to New York's East Village in 1982 to pursue a career as an artist, and became a regular performer at the Pyramid Club, appearing next to other drag legends like Rupaul and Lady Bunny. Tashjian also performed several times at the annual Wigstock drag event, and appeared in Wigstock, The Movie, released in 1994.

Tashjian has painted murals on city buildings and exhibited his paintings in many galleries internationally. Under the name Tabboo! He designed flyers, record album covers and advertising for underground venues. One of his better-known artworks is his graphic design for the successful Deee-Lite "World Clique" album cover. The curly lettering on the album cover became an iconic image for the band and the rave culture of the early 1990s.

The photographer Nan Goldin included photographs of Tabboo! in her books and he is featured on the cover of her book The Other Side in drag.

Tashjian continues to perform in New York and shows his paintings in art shows, most notably a 2006 group show curated by Jack Pierson at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York, featuring dozens of camp art pieces from his private collection. The show featured works by Matthew Barney, Nan Goldin, David Armstrong, Jack Pierson, and Mark Morrisroe.

Tashjian's work has also been documented in the New Museum's "East Village Show" and New York University (NYU)/Grey Art Gallery's "Downtown Show."

FERNANDO CARPANEDA

Fernando Carpaneda is an artist born in Brasília, Brazil. He works with clay sculptures. His main theme is always the human being. He watches people in the streets, bars, concerts, and places where people sell their bodies. Fernando makes portraits of rent boys, punks, junkies, thieves and outcasts. Instead of attaching himself to muses, he focuses on male nudes to compose his art pieces, having the human being, the masculine, as the main goal in his work. All his portraits are like a relic, a holy place, a moment caught in time. He uses objects that have a connection to the portrayed person to composing his work, such as cigarette butts, condoms, beer cans, underwear, semen, empty toothpaste boxes. In other words, things that are part of these people's real world, and his own. He uses such objects and remains as a beginning for his portraits. Clay is used as technique. He uses it the same way it was used in the 17th Century (for painting baroque saint images). He even dresses his sculptures with cloth from his own clothes. He creates and sews all the clothing that is used in the pieces. He also includes human hair to some of the pieces, his own hair (this was very often done in the 17th Century), and a current relic that has its value in time, as to maintain a time, ordinary people who lived it. Fernando writes about his pieces using street language as a background, another urban element often used. His connection to the artwork is important to any creative process. He believes that the artist himself is a piece of art. He has been going to places where the portrayed people use to go for the past 25 years.

In 2006 Fernando Carpaneda had one of his sculptures published in the book Treasures of Gay Art, a publishing of The Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation. The book shares the jubilation, with the triumphant arrival of The Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation. The new book, as the unparalleled collection of conspicuously gay art debuts in print for the first time. Designed and printed in Italy, the publication was guided by renowned curator Peter Weiermair exclusively for The Foundation. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, watercolors, photographs and prints from Jean Cocteau to Andy Warhol.

MORE ABOUT FERNANDO'S GAY DOLLS

The artist Fernando Carpaneda created Charlie, the gay doll, and both gay icons and notorious homophobes in contemporary history inspired his composition. The doll's body is based on the Russian journalist and photographer, Slava Mogutin, who is the most famous gay celebrity in Russia and was chosen by Carpaneda in honor of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who banned demonstrations of gay pride in his country. The Brazilian priest, Edino Fonseca, a notoriously homophobic Brazilian politician who proposed using taxpayer money to establish clinics to cure gay people of their homosexuality, inspired the gay doll face.

The doll is featured in seven versions: a skinhead, in tribute to the largest homophobic group in the world, another version dressed in a gothic priest robe, like that used by the priest, Marcelo Rossi, a Brazilian Catholic icon, and an Arab version in tribute to the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And lastly, a Jewish version, Fundamentalist Christian, Young Black Man and In Drag: Gazelle. The doll is also dedicated to the Pope, as he is one of the most homophobic religious leaders in history.

Charlie, the Gay Doll, comes with two penis options, flaccid uncircumcised or erect. The penis model was based on the artist's own penis. The name Charlie is a tribute to the president of The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation.

These are unique sculptures signed by the artist. All are cast in a durable resin and hand painted with tattoo's. The doll is 12 inches tall.

ADRIAN MILTON

Adrian Milton graduated from Columbia University where he majored in Art History.

He began his career in the art world working with Betty Thompson, creator of Multiplications, a mass produced art object sold at MOMA and many other museums around the world. Thompson and Milton would stage Happenings in their loft in Chelsea making use of abstract geometric foam objects to engage the participants.

After leaving Multiplications he spent several years making props, painting sets, and performing with the Angels of Light Theater Troupe in California.

Mr. Milton spent a year in India studying Tantric art, which combined his interest in abstract geometric shapes and unlocking the spiritual in art. It was in India that he learned to paint on fabrics and he successfully painted fabrics for Henri Bendel and other retail outlets throughout the United States.

For many years Mr. Milton has painted murals. Like many other artists in the Post-Modern movement his style has ranged from realistic to abstract expressionist. He has explored subjects ranging from circus art, advertising graphics, political agitprop as well as issues of gender and sexual orientation.

Mr. Milton has traveled extensively in Central America, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Presently he divides his time between New York in Florida. In addition to his art career Mr. Milton is a passionate advocate of animal welfare and has worked with animal rescue for many years.

Leigh de Vries has just released her first solo project, writing and producing the track "BEATITOFF" for the very provocative New York Artist Fernando Carpaneda. 

http://videos.emule.com/videos/fernandocarpaneda/

Fernando Carpaneda is an artist born in Brasília, Brazil. He works with clay sculptures. His main theme is always the human being. He watches people in the streets, bars, concerts, and places where people sell their bodies. Fernando makes portraits of rent boys, punks, junkies, thieves and outcasts. Instead of attaching himself to muses, he focuses on male nudes to compose his art pieces, having the human being, the masculine, as the main goal in his work. All his portraits are like a relic, a holy place, a moment caught in time. 

You can hear the track @ http://www.myspace.com/leighdevries