Gerardo Vizmanos Presents Seen & Unseen Gay Themes with Male Photography Exhibition

The pressures of heteronormativity, tolerance, and queer existentialism are laced through the work of photographer Gerardo Vizmanos, who'll debut his first solo exhibtion, Hidden Subject, at New York's Prince Street Project Space on Friday, March 24. "My work is a personal investigation," says Vizmanos, who was raised in Spain where he honed his craft before moving to New York in 2012. His investigations seem both internal and external. Born into a world where gay men are typically accepted only when they hide behind socially constructed roles, the artist is unpacking is own experiences as a gay man through his work, while also presenting an inherent study of gay sexuality via his male subjects.

"My works are very personal and I don't think the gay element can be deleted," says Vizamnos, whose exhibit title speaks to the alternating autonomy and universality of the men he shoots, as well as how the viewer can interpret what lies beneath the surface. "It's common to project LGBT issues," he says, "especially in controversial environments. My work talks about how tolerance can be an unbearable experience, and how negative violence exists."

Indeed, in the 25 color and black and white images included in Hidden Subject, there's a grittiness amid the elegance that Vizmanos describes as "an invisible tension that makes the experience of watching the images disturbing." And yet, thanks in part to the influences of contemporary dance and the creations of other artists like Wolgang Tillmans, Vivian Sassen, and painter Michael Borremans, the photography is also a celebration--a presentation of a veil lifted off a community, but with plenty of mysteries still left to explore.

Hidden Subject's opening reception will be on Friday, March 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will will run through the Sunday until 6 p.m. A gallery talk with Vizmaons is scheduled for Saturday, March 25 at 3 p.m. Admission is free. The Prince Street Project Space is located at 127-B Prince Street in New York. For more information, visit leslielohman.org.