My last foray into magic realism in art — on 3/28/11 — focused on Jack Frankfurter and his homoerotic paintings. Now a feature in the December/January Advocate (“Best Art of the Year: 2014: Over 40 editors’ picks from this year’s art portfolios” by Christopher Harrity) puts a spotlight on more homoerotic magic realism: “Moscow artist Igor Sychev’s magic realism travels across time and space creating a sensual dream world”. A sample, “Bath Day”:
(#1)
Yes, in Moscow. As the Advocate says:
Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a less than ideal place for a young gay artist to work. Yet 27-year-old Igor Sychev creates and thrives. He is out to his family, and he has been with his partner, Misha, for four years.
No genitals — that would surely get him in trouble with the authorities — but plenty of buttocks and cock-tease presentations. One more painting, “Forgotten Pages Were Like Clothes”:
(#2)
I’m hoping this exposure in the West — in fact, in an issue of the Advocate with Vladimir Putin on the cover, named “Person of the Year” because “no single person has had a more damaging effect on the welfare of LGBTs in 2014” — doesn’t get Sychev in trouble.
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