I was starting to establish my own voice and wanted see it develop, uninterrupted. It could be difficult to live with and learn from Louis without letting him become a full-time mentor, especially after dating for a couple of years. “We had rules, especially regarding my studio.
“There were definitely challenging times living with another artist who had already developed his language and aesthetic, and was so sure of who he was,” he continued. If falling into Bickett’s orbit came naturally for Skolnick, maintaining his own artistic identity and creative vision could be challenging, he explained, in the long shadow of the older, locally known artist.
It was, in fact, a schmatta from Skolnick’s collection, which, along with sneakers and a black T-shirt emblazoned with a smiling Willie Nelson, formed his uniform for the day.Īaron Skolnick, “A Study in Being Alone” (2018), pencil and watercolor on paper, 22.5 x 16 inches (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)
When I met the artist on a warm October afternoon, he stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of his building to greet me with what appeared to be a brown-leather tablecloth masquerading as a skirt wrapped around his waist. There, Skolnick lives frugally in an old, wood-framed apartment building just off the town’s main street he works night shifts at a restaurant and sticks to a disciplined schedule that allows for plenty of studio time, as well as for walks, exercise, and hanging out with friends. “I guess I’m having something of a moment,” Skolnick said modestly during a recent interview at his studio in Hudson, the riverside town north of Manhattan that in recent years has enjoyed an economic recovery and established some hipster bona fides after decades of boom-and-bust convulsions. At the same time, Skolnick’s work is being featured in several group shows, including Young Hudson Biennial, at September Gallery, in Hudson, New York (through November 10) We Go Fast, at Left Field Gallery in Los Osos, California (through November 24) and If I Could Turn Back Time, at the Morlan Gallery at Transylvania University, in Lexington, Kentucky (through December 3). Now, a selection of Skolnick’s small-format works is on view in Your Voice Lying Gently in My Ear, a just-opened solo exhibition at Institute 193 (1B) in the East Village, which will run through December 15. His images of naked men, including self-portraits, do not emphasize or fetishize the erotic but they do not shy away from it either instead, Skolnick offers a frisson of the sexual (if a viewer really wants it) naturally embedded in the young artist’s dutiful draftsmanship, which has found its groove in recent years, even as he has sharpened his thematic focus. This is a list of our favorite nude gay cruises from all around the world that we think you should set sail on.Works by Aaron Skolnick, including: top, an untitled, colored-pencil-on-paper drawing (2019) bottom: “Watching You Get Into Bed” (diptych, 2019), oil on linen, 12 x 18 inches (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)įor Aaron Skolnick, a 30-year-old artist from Kentucky who is gay and easily fluid about his sexuality, drawing or painting the male nude is a routine, essential part of his art-making. If it's your first time, you might feel inadequate standing beside other unclothed men with ripped muscles and perfect figures, but you will really quickly feel like a part of the crowd. It doesn't matter how you look or what age you are, you will always be made to feel like the beautiful creature you are.
TRAIN GAY MEN NUDE FREE
Free of all shame and bodily insecurity, nude cruises are made to make you feel proud of yourself, whether you're single or a couple. We've never felt so close as a couple than when we were sailing across the sea, embracing the bodies that were given to us. It's basically a floating gay man's paradise… Plus, the nude gay factor means we're surrounded by other men without any clothes on, great music, delicious drinks, and fine dining. The seawater helps create such a refreshing ambiance, one of serenity and calm. We can't get enough of the sensation of the sun beating down on our skin, listening to the waves crashing against the sides of the boat. There's nothing like standing on the deck of a ship whilst being completely nude. What can we say? We love a gay nude cruise!