Desire. Presented by Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian

The Erotic is one of the earliest and most essential artistic themes. Eros in art dates back to ancient times and has continued to be a subject of artistic expression throughout history, reflecting the social mores and cultural climate of the time. The representation of eroticism in art has evolved with society, pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable subject matter, bringing to life artistic fantasies and unexpected imagery. Eroticism in art reinvents itself every generation. Today, the presence and overexposure of nude bodies on the Internet and television have also influenced and changed the definition and very notion of erotic representation. Our exhibition Desire will focus on modern and contemporary approaches to eroticism in art.
Eroticism fuses a number of opposing and complementary concepts: form and passion, spiritual and physical, intellectual and emotional. It can be both the most accessible and the most challenging subject in art. Its portrayal can be conceptual, abstract, romantic, carnal, or all of these approaches combined. It can be infused by humor, anxiety, terror and other states of mind. It can be subtle or abrasive in its effect. It can intensify emotion. The erotic creates a tension between the artist, the subject and the viewer. There is balance of power between the male and female gaze and between voyeurism and exposure. In Modern and Contemporary art, there is often a conflation of eroticism and uneasiness.
When eroticism reaches its intense level, it induces an altered state of consciousness. It can generate the most powerful of artistic gestures. The art that approaches the erotic in the least expected way is often the art with the strongest erotic charge.

It will be the second project that Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian are presenting, following the success of the Unrealism exhibition in the same space last year.

“Desire”, curated by Diana Widmaier Picasso, features work of about fifty artists from modern masters like Picasso and Balthus to emerging talents. A number of the artists will be specially commissioned for the show, which will display artworks in a variety of media.