ORGY


The works in this group represent an expanding circle of communal pleasure and sexual freedom. Among the many challenges that the experiences of gay men and lesbians have posed to the status quo, one of the most significant is their experimentation with a wide variety of sexual practices. While the majority of gay men and lesbians may remain in fairly conventional, monogamous sexual relationships, others within these communities have embraced their socially marginal status, welcoming the opportunity to overthrow what are perceived as Puritanical sexual norms.

The orgiastic quality of these artworks evokes not only sexual freedom but, equally, a sense of broad social and intellectual experimentation, fueled by a conviction that gregariousness, complexity, and pleasure are inherently positive. The compleixity and mutability of sexual experience itself is emerging as a significant new theme in the work of a younger generation of artists many of whom feel far less compelled to conform to a stable and "politically correct" identity.


Lari Pittman
Untitled, #36 (A Decorated Chronology of Insistence and Resignation) , 1994
Acrylic, enamel on wood panel
36x24"
Private Collection

Tee A. Corrine
#27 (Yantras of Womanlove) , 1982
Collage of manipulated photographs on rag board
9x15"
Courtesy of the artist

Monica Majoli
Untitled , 1990
Oil on wood
12x12"
Courtesy of the artist

Sally Elesby
Surface Decoration, Drawing Without Paper - Stool , 1993
Wire, colored glue and decoration
12x12x12"
Lent by Food House

Cary S. Leibowitz/Candyass, United States, born 1963, Vitrine of multiples, Dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist and Michael Klein Gallery

Nicole Eisenman, United States, born France, 1965, Alive with Pleasure, 1992-94, Mixed media installation, Dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist and Jack Tilton Gallery

Reginald Marsh, United States, 1898-1954, Barrel of Fun, 1943, Maroger medium on panel, 29 x 39", Bequest of Felicia Meyer Marsh, 1979.4.1

Keith Haring, United States, 1958-1990, Untitled (No. 3), 1982, Vinyl paint on vinyl tarp, 118 x 120", Courtesy Tony Shafrazi Gallery

Steve Wolfe, United States, born Italy, 1955, The Andy Warhol Diaries, 1993, Screen print on fiberboard with shrink wrap, 9-3/16 x 8-1/8 x 2", Courtesy of the artist and Daniel Weinberg Gallery

Andy Warhol, A, Grove Press Inc, New York, 1968

Larry Johnson, United States, born 1959, John-John and Bobby, 1988, Unique ektacolor photographs, 2 panels: 90 x 48-3/4" each, Courtesy of the artist and Margo Leavin Gallery

Claes Oldenburg, United States, born Sweden, 1925, Soft Drum Set, 1969, Screenprint on stitched canvas, painted rope, 10 x 19 x 14", Gift of John Bransten, 1979.10

Donna Han, United States, born 1972, Extra Sensual Purge, 1994, Mixed media, Approx: 120 x 120", Courtesy of the artist

Stuart Sherman United States, born 1945, Freeze, 1994, Mixed media, 14-1/2 x 25", Courtesy of the artist

Carolee Schneemann, United States, born 1939, Saw Over Want (3 sections of 6), 1980-82, Chromacolor prints and dye, 88 x 72 x 3", Courtesy of the artist

Various artists, Aspen: Fab Issue in 11 sections, December 1966, vol. 1, no. 3, Mixed media in a box, Dimensions variable, Gift of The Peter Norton Family Foundation, 1993.34.3

Alan Saret, United States, born 1934, Blue-Red Ten-Five Permutation Cluster, 1979, Coated wire, Approx.3 x 18" diameter, Gift of the artist, 1979.12

Jerome Caja, United States, born 1958, Various paintings, 1989-94, Dimensions variable, Lent by the artist

Richmond Burton, United States, born 1960, Boy's Room, 1994, Acrylic on canvas, 63-1/4 x 40 x 1-5/8", Lent by Eileen and Peter Michael

Charles Demuth, United States, 1883-1935, Three Sailors on the Beach, 1930, Watercolor and pencil on paper, 9-1/2 x 12-1/4", Lent by Mr. and Mrs. M. Anthony Fisher

Richard Hawkins, United States, born 1961, Foliage V (Burt Reynolds, Brian Buzzini, Sebastian Bach), 1992, Mixed media, Dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist and Richard Telles Fine Art

Tee A. Corinne, United States, born 1939, #27 (Yantras of Womanlove), 1982, Collage of manipulated photographs on rag board, 9 x 15", Courtesy of the artist

David Hockney, United States, born England, 1937, The Hitchhiker, 1982, Photographic collage, 26 x 19-1/2", Courtesy of the artist

Jim Hodges, United States, born 1957, Happily Ever After, 1994, Silver chain, 31-1/2 x 39", Courtesy CRG Art Inc.



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