Marais, Paris
Danny Ferrell
Pansy
PactThe exhibition Pansy is Danny Ferrell's third solo presentation. Ferrell's paintings represent fantasies and fears about the ‘Other' through depictions of the everyday queer male. Working within the tradition of the Cadmus Circle and Hudson River School, he perches the figure on the edge of the quotidian where lush landscapes, colorful gradients, and intricate patterns interact to create a ‘magic reality' that is both ordinary and extraordinary. A formal and conceptual tension is at play, which is structured by ever-present dichotomies: public/private, nature/culture, taste/ kitsch, transparency/opacity. Loosely based on his own relationships, experiences, and imagination, his work functions like a daydream, where memory and longing shape a personal fiction. He gestures to the vast canon of European royalty painting by blending the epic and banal in painted images of gay men and their dogs. This combination quotes the pageantry of that history – their rich garb and over-the-top landscapes – and in so doing, elevates queer bodies from second class to royal class.