LOS ANGELES — Boots Bryant will be one of 30 artists gathered from around the world to exhibit at the International Art Fair at Tom House, the residence of the late legendary erotic artist, Tom of Finland.
“The exciting thing about this year's expo is that it will be held at Tom House, Tom of Finland's last residence before he passed away,” said Bryant, who runs Boots Bryant PR. “You'll be able to tour the house and see some of my newer work, as well as work from a slew of other amazing artists gathered together from all around the world.”
Last weekend Bryant exhibited at the Queer Art Expo at Rough Trade Gear in L.A., and relates that he “was thrilled to be featured in an article by the Long Beach Post about the show.”
“I think there’s no finer piece of art than the human body and I love to photograph it,” Bryant told the Long Beach Post. “Since we live in a society where violence is glorified and nudity is shamed, I of course have [been] called obscene and pornographic by some, while others call it fine art. All of my art is an extension of what goes on inside the body and mind of a living breathing man: some of it is romantic, some of it is angry, some of it is happy, some of it is spiritual, some of it is sexual.”
The Art Fair will showcase more than 30 artists, both emerging and established, from the U.S. and beyond. Workshops and panel discussions will be held and artwork — spanning sculpture, photography, paintings, sketches, digital renderings and more — will be for sale.
Touko Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist notable for his stylized homoerotic fetish art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W. Slade.
The International Art Fair at Tom House will take place Oct. 4-5 on 1421 Laveta Terrace in the Echo Park neighborhood of L.A.
For more info about the event and/or Tom of Finland, click here.