Tom of Finland’s exhibition Highway Patrol, Greasy Rider, and Other Selected Works at David Kordansky Gallery in Chelsea presented several different collections of graphite and ink drawings as well as collages that explore masculinity, sexuality, and freedom in the form of idealist and euphoric pornographic imagery. Finland used stereotypically masculine characters like police officers, cowboys, sailors, and bikers engaged in a variety of explicit homoerotic acts to subvert traditional ideas of masculinity and heteronormativity. His work seems to both romanticize and sexualize his characters by emphasizing and exaggerating the male figure, more specifically their muscles and genitalia, to the verge of being unrealistic. The repetition of these figures was used to create visual narratives and highlighted Finland’s focus on anatomy and pose, which can also be seen in the collage studies of beautiful muscly men.
The smaller scale of the pieces and similar sizing, staying close to letter sized with slight variations, allows for the work to be intimate. The inarguably explicit drawings displayed quite simply in the large gallery space with thin frames and larger borders between the frame and art make the work more approachable. The provocative work feels tender by being able to see the edge of the paper within the frames and the use of scale. The work does not feel vulgar or offensive but rather unabashed and a bit cheeky.
-Gabrielle
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