J. Carino
J. Carino is the pseudonym of a California-based figurative artist working in a variety of mixed-media. He is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and an award-winning illustrator and animator.
This body of work is a series of large tapestry-like paintings and smaller pastel works. Together, they explore the ideas of queer identity, non-traditional fertility, nature, and a desire for connection. All of the works included were created during 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic and feature themes of togetherness, and isolation. The portraits of other queer people were conducted over FaceTime. I am interested in how, for queer people like myself, our “natural” is often seen as “unnatural”, and the reflection of this marginalization in our experience of nature and of eachother. I contrast traditional fertility symbols, like pomegranates, with atypical plants like century plants (agave) and ferns (with it’s mythical “fernseed”) to explore what a life without procreation can be. In my work, there is a sensuality that is inherently a part of nature, rather than separated from it. My work explores my own personal journey with queerness, masculinity, and my relationship to other queer men and the natural world. It is often heavily patterned, richly colored, and influenced by decorative arts like textiles, mosaic, and art deco. Like many queer people, there is a dichotomy of wanting to be seen as a whole person, sexuality included, but also the fear of people seeing too much. Through my work, I explore the complicated influence of intimacy, sexuality, and being seen, especially as it relates to gay relationships and our ability to connect with one another and ourselves
