Jess T. Dugan

Color and light suffuse these intimate
self-portraits by Jess T. Dugan. In the work on the right, Dugan, tattooed and
bare-chested, extends their arms over their head. Both works suggest a sense of
calm interiority and reflect the artist’s pull towards masculinity in others
and in themself.

About this series, Dugan has explained:

I combine formal portraits, images of
couples, self-portraits, and photographs of my own romantic relationship to
investigate broader themes of identity and connection while also speaking to my
private, individual experience. The photographs of men and masculine
individuals act as a kind of mirror; they depict the type of gentle masculinity
I am attracted to, yet also the kind I want to embody.

–Conor Moynihan, assistant curator
of prints, drawings, and photographs