As much as we’d like to believe we can control our emotions, when it comes to romance, nothing could be further from the truth. As a lovesick Helena put it in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; / And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.” From ancient Greek sculptures of Adonis and Aphrodite to Picasso’s “The Lovers,” Rodin’s “The Kiss,” Sophie Calle’s staged marriage in Vegas, and Mickalene Thomas’s feminist explorations, intimacy and eros have provided endless fuel for artists, songwriters, novelists, and poets. Inspired by centuries of impassioned predecessors, the artists in Modern Love explore the agony and ecstasy of relationships in the digital age.
Probing the depths of the human heart and working freely with the body, these artists revisit timeless themes from a contemporary perspective, confront obstacles to closeness in an era of virtual sex and online dating, blend classic motifs with contemporary media, and reexamine the gaze. Whether through a Japanese-inspired embroidery of a couple sexting, a futuristic sculpture on the dehumanization of modern relationships, an oil painting of robosexuals, or a candid self-portrait for a hookup app, the work is sensual, philosophical, introspective, and refreshingly frank. The artists in Modern Love recognize the paradox of seeking connection in a hyper-connected world, exploring how individual notions of love and intimacy shape, shift, and collide with social expectations, yet, in some ways, remain uncannily the same.
View Modern Love, then scroll down for details about the artists and their work.
Fertility and Fetishes
In her ritualistic photograph “Embryo,” Katie Swan examines the imprint of the body on the Earth, using it as a vessel to explore cycles of fertility and birth. In an interactive performance, Asia Stewart invited viewers to photograph and direct her—without touching. A voyeuristic image of the back of her neck, titled with the participant’s initials “FAH,” confronts the power of the gaze while raising questions about control and advocacy. “Disagreeable,” a shimmering textile piece with confessional tones by Paige Lizbeth Morris, evokes a torn item of intimate apparel while remaining seductively vague. In “Pleasure Seeking Absolution,” Dom Victoria’s fetishistic close-up of a stiletto boot, and “Poise,” Kevin K. Shah’s AI-enhanced image of a nude woman coolly smoking a cigarette, both artists reference sexist tropes while transforming them into affirmations of sexual empowerment.
Coupling and Commingling
“Whispers,” Heejo Kim’s moody painting of intertwined figures with rain falling outside, combines warm and cool hues with ambiguous body language, suggesting a provocative dance between intimacy and separation. “Hug #2,” Betsy Podlach’s enigmatic painting of two women embracing, offers disparate takes on closeness through conflicting posture and facial expressions. Sparkling with crystals and radiating warmth, ~.THE.DoT.’s Hip-Hop-inspired portrait, “Got His Back,” captures the intoxicating stage when lovers have stars in their eyes. “Relationship” by Yaching Cheung explores the magical exchange of energy that occurs through touch. In “Last Night in Butcher's Hill,” Joan Cox shares a pivotal moment in the life of a queer couple about to leave the US and start a new life abroad.
Longing and Connection
By weaving ancient motifs into a playful, erotic embroidery, Carol Scavotto examines the timeless urge to connect in “Sexting.” In his vulnerable self-portrait “Lite Brite,” Jesse Egner uses acceptance and humor to explore his “non-normative queerness” and the sting of not measuring up to the rigid standards of a dating app. Brooke McGowen’s “Encounter 4,” with its mask-like visages facing in either direction, reflects the ambiguity of contemporary hookups. In “I Think We Should See Other People,” Melissa Mattis uses images of decaying wildlife as a wry metaphor for deteriorating relationships. In her Robosexuals series, Jasimen Phillips explores the impact of technology and media on intimacy through a lone robot searching for love and affirmation.
Reflections and Declarations
Kenneth Wayne Alexander’s “IRRLY (I Really Really Love You)” captures love’s giddy exuberance through bursting fireworks, expanding galaxies, soulful music, and gushing waterfalls. In “They Were a Strange Couple,” Emily Veldman shares the othering she experiences as part of a nontraditional pair, dedicating the piece to couples who don’t fit the mold. In “Modern Relationships,” Jordan Vinyard replaces the body with machines, fusing technology and language to explore solitude, togetherness, and the dehumanization of 21st-century relationships. Jimin Baek’s sensuous glimpse of bare feet touching, “Love is not understood, but rather transferred,” stands on its own as a reflection on intimacy while being part of a series about broken connections and visual language. Inspired by surrealism and Audre Lorde’s essay “Uses for the Erotic,” Sara Kollig channels fantasy and dreams to confront her psychological shadow in “Land Bones.”
All images published with permission of the artist(s); featured graphic editing for Modern Love: Elise Wilson.