Bare Men: The Group Show

A Group Photography Exhibit Curated by Abigail Ekue

Exhibition on View September 29 - October 4, 2019

The Living Gallery, 1094 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11221

Online Exhibition on View April 14 - June 30, 2020

Bare Men: The Group Show curated by Abigail Ekue is a group photography exhibition celebrating all expressions of the male nude ranging from the classical to the erotic. Artists working in the figure studies, fashion and glamour, editorial, outdoor, conceptual, erotic and self portrait genres were invited and selected to participate. Each artist shares their own appreciation, familiarity or tension with the male nude through sensual, vulnerable, experimental and sexual imagery. Bare Men: The Group Show marks Abigail Ekue’s curatorial debut.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS:

Abigail Ekue, Adam Burke, Aeric Meredith-Goujon, Andy Kabi, Anira Ivo, Ann-Marie Stillion, Arnold Barretto, Berta A. Daniels, Bill Mattern, DearIndifference, Ekin Balcıoğlu, Evan Murphy, Exposing40, H. Tim Secnal, Jen Folsom, Linda Richard, Logan Benedict, Naked World, Nick Kershaw, Oliver Estrella, Only Sky Studios, Patrick, Peter J. Robinson Jr., Raj Kamal, Shelagh Howard, Steve Stenzel, Tim Foley, Wolf Schwarz, Wylde Soul Photography, Zaza Greene

CURATORIAL STATEMENT:

Since the dawn of my Bare Men series, I've been working to end the taboo of the male nude -- full-frontal, all bodies, erections -- and the men who inhabit those bodies. What draws me to nudes is how much of a person's spirit we're shown.

For Bare Men: The Group Show, I invited and selected photographers whose imagery was intimate, delicate, raw, erotic, evocative. The work I was drawn to took my breath away. Photographers who are daring, pushing boundaries or those that are elevating the classic nude tropes.

I chose photography as the sole medium for this show because it is the most censored when it comes to the male nude.

When I'm working with men for my Bare Men series or with private clients, I love the process of seeing them strip the armor of "being a man" in society. They are free to express their personal masculinity. The artists in Bare Men: The Group Show exhibit many expressions of masculinity through their photography and self portraiture.

This exhibit forces the viewer to face the face of the male nude. The viewer is asked to confront any hang-ups they may have towards the male nude or even nudity, in general, and appreciate that there is art in the male nude. Art that we all have a hand in creating.

Exhibit Contact: abigail@abigailekue.com

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Abigail Ekue is a New York City-based photographer and author. Her primary body of work includes portrait, editorial and nude photography. Through her Bare Men series, she displays men the way women are presented - full frontal, vulnerable, and objectified. Her work has been published in PAPER, The Huffington Post, Time Out New York, WideWalls, L'Oeil de la Photographie, Refinery29, The Naked and the Lens (2nd Edition), The Creators Project, Queerguru along with various publications in the US, UK, France, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, and India.

Selections from Bare Men have been exhibited in group exhibitions in New York and Johannesburg and as the “Artist of the Month” for two months at the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas. In May 2016, she presented Bare Men in a pop-up exhibit at the Living Gallery. Behind the Lens: Bare Men is a short documentary about the series and her process, which was produced by Zoomin TV.

Abigail Ekue's work with the male nude has been cited in graduate theses on vulnerable masculinity and the differences in the depiction of males versus females in fashion photography.

Her editorial photography has been exhibited in the Museum of the City of New York, digital display at Musée du Louvre (Paris, FR) and in online outlets Flavorwire and BLOUIN ARTINFO. Abigail Ekue has been a guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts to discuss her series including Artgasm and W Radio Colombia. https://www.abigailekuephotography.com/ | https://www.baremen.net/

PRESS

Attitude

L’Oeil de la Photographie

Time Out New York

Queerguru