The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation
 

While many observers of Delmas Howe's work note its startling juxtaposition of male nudes in the land of the Marlboro man, there is much more to his paintings, lithographs, drawings and monotypes than shock value. In fact, his work is informed by a deep appreciation for the classical art and mythology of Greece and Rome, an abiding love for and technical mastery of the Western landscape, and a sensitive reinterpretation of male values in Western society today. Howe says, "I was raised on the laps of real cowboys, and my little boy mind put the two together: that eroticism remains with me today."

Howe further notes, "I'm simply using the male figure to discuss things I'm ... interested in and which reflect my life. My works always get characterized as homoerotic, but I have never even thought of them in that way ... I see the cowboy as just about the only thing that approaches romantic mysticism in America."

Delmas Howe lives and works in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

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Exhibitions: