brief exhibit

Gay artist selling 68 pairs of underpants men left at his home for $50K

By · 9 comments · Updated on January 26, 2024
Underwear

One man’s discarded skivvies, is another man’s work of art!

Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade is getting people’s panties in a bunch and bringing out the underwear fetish in art lovers with a sex-positive installation at the The Armory Show in New York City.

According to Artnet, the project in question is entitled “Olho-faísca/spark eye” and consists of a slew of underwear left behind by Andrade’s male lovers over the years.

The colorful display includes 68 pairs of tighty-whities, bikini briefs, and boxers that are vacuum-sealed and presented as if they were on sale at a store. Coincidentally, the entire collection can be all yours for $50,000, which comes out to $735 per piece of underwear. Your Charlie briefs could never!

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After being inspired by his ex-lovers’ cast-offs, Andrade bought a vacuum sealing machine (and hopefully washed all the undergarments) and has presented the installation in France and Portugal prior to bringing it to the Big Apple.

“The piece gets a lot of attention. People ask a lot of questions, like ‘did he have all these lovers?'” Daniel Roesler, partner at the New York and Brazil-based Nara Roesler gallery, told the outlet.

But Andrade, who we might add is handsome as hell, is keeping it on the DL as far how many ex-boyfriends were involved with the project or how long it took to collect the 68 pairs of unmentionables. Never kiss and tell!

On a deeper level, the work offers various interpretations. Are the remnants left behind symbolic of the artist’s sadness over the failed relationships? Or is it a sign of queer liberation especially amid the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the US, Brazil and across the world.

“It’s very much about desire and the gaze on the male body,” Roesler said of the piece. “I see him [Andrade] as more of an explorer, living life to the fullest—very open about it and very proud.”

This isn’t the first time the 41-year-old artist has been inspired by male intimacy and forgotten apparel.

Back in 2020, Andrade made clay sculptures of body parts which he outfitted with a collection of men’s Speedo bathing suits found in the dressing rooms of various pools in Brazil over the course of a decade.

Andrade was previously picked to represent Brazil at the 2022 Venice Biennial and has had solo shows at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Power Plant in Toronto, Museo Jumex in Mexico City, and Museu de Arte do Rio in Rio de Janeiro.

In addition, two of his films were recently acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

While Andrade is clearly a talented artist, his latest work may have his future boyfriends keeping a close watch on their Calvins.

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