HERO WORSHIP

16.08.18 - 30.09.18

Sean O'Connor

The Naughton Gallery is delighted to present a solo exhibition of new work by Brooklyn-based artist Sean O’Connor, winner of the gallery’s 2017 Open Call.

Primarily working as a painter, O’Connor’s work explores themes around masculinity, representations of male beauty throughout history, and the archetypes we associate with the male gender; strength, athleticism and stoicism. Adapting a Classical Greco-Roman aesthetic to incorporate emojis, basketball, Yeezy sneakers, and Louis Vuitton apparel, O’Connor’s paintings are humorous, unexpected, and thought-provoking, raising important questions about the constructed identity of man. O’Connor has created a playfully anachronistic world in which Hercules is a frat boy and Ronaldo is a demi-god, where muscled bodies flex, flaunt, and flirt with each other and the viewer.

O’Connor holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design, New York. He has previously exhibited at galleries including Room 68 (Provincetown, MA), How’s Howard (Boston, MA), and the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (New York, NY). His work has also been featured in publications such as The Advocate, GAYLETTER, and Hello Mr.

Special thanks to our international panel of Open Call jurors, who assisted in the selection of O’Connor’s work: Colin Davidson, Manuela Pacella, Matthew Poole, and Rachel Steinberg.