A central feature of my gallery tours is introducing participants to new, barely discovered talent when their art merits it.  Well, it doesn’t get any newer or younger than 26 year-old lesbian artist Daphne Arthur, fresh out of Yale’s MFA program, who will give an informal Q&A session at our October 16 LGBT tour when we visit her show of brand-new mixed media paintings.  Hers is one of seven exhibits we will visit that day—including a collaborative show by two other lesbian artists, and two solo exhibits by gay male artists, one of them Robert Mapplethorpe!—at an event that is open to people of any orientation.

This is Daphne’s first solo show anywhere, and it is a testament to her abilities that she is already exhibiting in Chelsea, the destination where the world’s millions of artists strive to make their mark, but only a tiny fraction succeed.  Peter Surace, the owner of Rare Gallery on W. 27th St., is giving Daphne her debut.

The exhibit is titled “Beyond Boundaries,” which I take as having a double meaning on both her artwork and her background.  Daphne was born in Venezuela, of partially Trinidadian descent, and moved to the U.S. when she was 12.  As a gay Latino immigrant myself, I completely relate to Daphne’s “outsider” slant.  Indeed, many of the world’s cutting-edge artists use the perspectives from their minority status—race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, etc.—intentionally or not, to break new ground.

Daphne’s latest works, which we’ll see on our visit, are large scale paintings that combine oil, acrylic, and spray paint with sculptural elements that include clay, twine, and caulking.  She considers hardware stores to be her artist supply shops, while adding found objects to her pieces.  There is an intensely visceral materiality on display.

The paintings’ content consists of androgynous, indeterminate figures suspended in space, inhabiting a fantastical world.  According to Daphne, all of her works are self-portraits of sorts, as they reveal psychological facets of her own persona and experiences.  Her painting “Love Story,” for instance, shows a person with both feminine (breasts) and masculine (bald head) features, floating underneath an umbrella.  It turns out to be a meditation on falling in love, inspired by Daphne’s feelings for her girlfriend Cyndi, whom she met at Yale.  Another piece, titled “Rest Your Dreams Inside My Dreams,” further explores the intimacy between two people in a relationship.

Meet Daphne Arthur and see her artwork this Sat. Oct. 16, and witness the launching of a fresh queer talent in the contemporary art scene.

Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D.
Founder and Director
New York Gallery Tours