Gay Culture: The Body Is The Instrument Event

A greyscale image of a belly button, with the title 'The Body is The Instrument'

Poster design by RubeÌn Esparza, artwork by Florian Hetz

Dr. Evan Goldstein of Bespoke Surgical, in conjunction with Stuart Sandford, and Tom of Finland Foundation, is pleased to announce a benefit exhibition at TOM House in Los Angeles titled The Body Is The Instrument, from May 8th through May 31st 2019, and online via Paddle8.

The opening night reception will be held on May 8th from 6-9pm at the TOM House: 1421 Laveta Ter, Los Angeles, California 90026, and sponsored by: Boy Smells, MyMoMochi, and Tom of Finland Organic Vodka. To RSVP to the opening night: rsvpthebody@gmail.com.

Curated by Stuart Sandford, The Body Is The Instrument focuses on the interconnection between art, sex, and science, and presents a group of emerging, established, and influential queer artists working with the male form across multiple disciplines, including photography, sculpture, painting, moving image, and collage. The exhibition opening reception coincides with the birthday of Tom of Finland (born Touko Laaksonen), whose libidinal foresight impacted gay culture around the world and transcended pornography to become fine art.

“Coming together with Dr. Evan Goldstein was a natural fit as his focus at Bespoke Surgical is not only the intersection of sex and science, but also treating the ass as a work of art.”

The exhibition will benefit the Tom of Finland Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Educational Archive.

Participating artists (in alphabetical order):

Mark Beard

Adam Chuck

Gabe Cortese

RubÃ©n Esparza

Gio Black Peter

Simon Haas

Brandon Herman

Florian Hetz

David Hockney

Terence Koh

Matt Lambert

Tom of Finland

Jwan Yosef

Dr. Evan Goldstein is the Founder and CEO of Bespoke Surgical, the leading private practice specializing in an elite standard of sexual health and wellness care for the modern gay male. As the preeminent leader in the field and with offices in both New York and Beverly Hills, Dr. Goldstein offers concierge-style medical and surgical expertise to the gay community and is dedicated to not only bringing the important issues surrounding gay sexual health to the forefront, but also eliminating stigmas around gay sexuality.

Stuart Sandford is an artist and independent curator from the UK currently based in Los Angeles. He has exhibited and published his work internationally and has curated and co-curated exhibitions in Los Angeles and London.

Tom of Finland Foundation was established in 1984 by Durk Dehner and his friend Touko Laaksonen a.k.a. Tom of Finland. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homo-erotic art, the Foundation’s original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened to offer a safe haven for all erotic art in response to rampant discrimination against art that portrayed sexual behavior or generated a sexual response. Today the Foundation continues in its efforts of educating the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and in promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality.

For all press enquires: holly@mmlpr.com

For event/sponsorship enquiries: glam@bespokesurgical.com

All images © the artist(s)