June 24 through July 15, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 24, 6-9 pm
“Memory is like a phantom mirror.
It sometimes shows things too distant to be seen,
and sometimes it shows them as if they were here.”
– Yukio Mishima, Decay of the Angel
Reach up onto that top shelf in the closet and bring down the shoebox of photos, and inside you’ll find the latest show by Adam Chuck, a miniaturist who will broaden your world. Like a Phantom Mirror is the Brooklyn-based artist’s debut solo exhibit at Bermudez Projects, and it celebrates queer life in paintings as small as an old Polaroid print.
These 20 miniatures are snapshots of Chuck’s memories, drawn from selfies emailed or texted to him, or found on Instagram. “I chose a lot of these works,” he says, “because they feel close to me. They feature friends, lovers, colleagues, places I have traversed,” most of them from the isolation of the Pandemic years, which reminded so many of us of the importance of family and friends. But of course, the Pandemic also found many of us – Chuck included – exploring the world via the Web. “Some of these works are complete strangers rendered in paint. They are all part of the whole of my work and me.”
There’s Chuck as a young boy napping with his father on the couch; a group of gay friends simply posing together while hanging out; a city skyline; a running dog; and an almost religious sunset, from the day Chuck flew home for his grandma’s funeral. But Chuck has not abandoned the powerful gay sexuality that made his works so popular in Bermudez Projects’ Fast Forward | The Future is Queer.
Like a Phantom Mirror includes two of Chuck’s full-frontal portraits, but while sexual digital selfies are commonplace now, Chuck’s skillful oil on mylar translations give them the evocative nature of old treasured Polaroids … they feel like memories. And, a third involves a nude young man with a hat strategically placed, and a playfulness that transports you to the most perfect day on the beach. “I chose a lot of beach scenes,” Chuck says, “because that is something that always has brought me solace, being by the ocean, and being in it.”
These may be miniatures, but in a few brushstrokes Chuck brings worlds to life like the phantom mirror of the show’s title.
Like a Phantom Mirror is on view in the main gallery and during this exhibit the gallery’s Project Space – dedicated to emerging LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists – includes a special, immersive installation by the artist.
Adam Chuck (American, b. 1989) is a queer artist working primarily in oil paint on mylar. His works are both figurative and abstract, taking found photos which have been curated by amateur photographers and bloggers for the internet and then re-presents the imagery to a more formal audience. By rendering them in paint at an intimate scale, Chuck takes these sometimes explicit or intimate moments and presents them like specimens or a small photo like a Polaroid, examining the way many humans present themselves on the internet. The final product is an intimate twist of classic expressionism and contemporary self-portraiture. The works function together similar to a newsfeed on a social media site, and on their own as vignettes of different human experiences and stories woven together.
Chuck earned his BFA in drawing from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 2012. He has since exhibited his work in solo and group shows around the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. His work is represented in Paris; it has been featured by Art Gaysel in conjunction with Art Basel Miami; and The Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles. Works are held in private collections in Cleveland, Paris, London, Berlin, South Africa, and Malta. Chuck lives and works in Brooklyn with his roommates and dog, Ellie.