Heyd Fontenot's Full Exposure  

Seeking legitimacy has its complications, and its awkward results. Heyd Fontenot discusses his current work and how it is a common experience in our culture to have intense feelings and confused reactions to the nude body. In response to a historical precedence for using the term "nude" and neutering or neutralizing the human form to soothe the public, Heyd has chosen "naked people" as his subject. While his intent is not to make specifically erotic, or non-erotic, paintings, he uses sexual expression as a metaphor for communication. (Taken from the artist's statement for "Office in the Front, and Party in the Back" on display at Art Palace Gallery through March 11, 2009)

Join Heyd Fontenot for an artist talk and salon in Austin, Texas at the Art Palace Gallery at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 26, 2009 (admission is free), as he joins the NSRC and CCSL for our regional training, Sex in Public. Heyd will talk about his experiences painting and drawing naked people along with group discussions about the ways that artists, writers, researchers, activists, academics, and others in the field of sexuality struggle to legitimize their work.