Keith Lafuente celebrates the phallic with paintings that poke your eyes out

“I’m very into how clothing – or lack thereof – can bend, twist, or upend conventional power dynamics,” says Keith Lafuente, a New York-based painter who specialises in glorious nude paintings. Be it lingerie or a magician’s outfit, Keith penetrates every painting with erections, muscles and cheeky exhibitionism. “Lately, I’ve been thinking about the role clothing plays in sexual fantasy: the niche fetishes of CMNM (clothed male nude male) and ENM (embarrassed nude male),” says Keith, prompting me to naively Google these terms in a public place then slam my laptop closed. Commentaries on nudity are created humorously in scenes of audiences gleefully indulging in 3D porn, models wearing ironic t-shirts and even Gollum from The Lord Of The Rings encountering a butt naked stud.

“My newest works are Photoshop collages translated into paintings: starting with a wash of pink or green, then building shadows up in thin, translucent layers,” Keith says. Whether it’s the Roman statue muscularity or the hazes of emerald and rose quartz, Keith’s paintings recall vapourwave aesthetics or gay pornos lost to time. With influences from Filipino culture to anime, Keith channels Leigh Bowery-flavoured absurdism – as well as sexiness. Transcending the low brow, Keith colours vulgarity in dreamy complexions, challenging the viewer’s palette. Rabbit holes of the kink community are opened wide and Keith refuses to close them, letting the viewer swoon, laugh or cringe – nevertheless, Keith’s paintings turn on the brain.