“Male Gayz” is a series of paintings from 2020-2021 that looks at the male gaze from a queer perspective.
The “Artspeak” series is about the observation of art manifested by the syntax or prose that are used to define art. The descriptions in these paintings are culled from art reviews, press releases, and biographies he has collected. Art speak has become an elite vernacular in the art world that creates an abstract language to distance themselves from critique themselves. By placing these descriptions on top of the painting, it forces the viewer to engage with these narratives and the painted background. The viewer is seduced into making the same narrative for themselves but on revelation they become a reflection of what the art world holds in regard.
JosephAbbati.art 