FEATURED ARTIST: Ashish Kumar
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
MEDIUM OF CHOICE: Digital
South Asian artist, ASHISH KUMAR is our featured artist this week in the lead up to his first solo show, opening this Friday. He only began posting homoerotic art in 2016. Having grown up in India, where (until August 2018) homosexuality was a criminal offense, he was scared to express the queer side of himself, but now that he is living in the USA, he uses his homoerotic art as a way to express himself in a way he wasn’t able to in the past. His artwork is almost as an illustrated journal; exploring his sexuality, while at the same time embracing his culture.
Within the queer erotic art community, representations of Indian and South Asian subjects are few and far between. Ashish’s work give us an insight into his culture with a genuine voice, pushing through societal taboos. He told us, “I would like to give away glimpses into a rich cultural world of south asian gay men and be part of this acceptance process and celebration.”
His first solo show, Ang Rasiya opens this Friday, March 1st (8-10pm) at Strut, 470 Castro St, in San Francisco. “Ang” means body and “Rasiya” is one devoted to sensual pleasure or someone with sensitive and discriminating tastes. He tells us it is about “celebrating south asian gay men sensually expressing themselves via a wide range of sexual activities.” The show runs the entire month of March. (More details here!)
He enjoys doing commissions, and his existing work can be purchased directly through him. You can reach him through social media (@axeishguy on IG and Twitter) or send an email to axeishguy@gmail.com
