J Rowen O’Dwyer, "Lillian Undressing", 2024, oil on panel.J Rowen O’Dwyer, "Lillian Undressing", 2024, oil on panel.On view: Aug. 31 – Dec. 7, 2024
DEVOTIONS, to a dirty queer home is a collection of paintings, objects, and zines showing hard gazes, gentle touches, the complexity of bodies, and daily acts of care.
The exhibition is J Rowen O’Dwyer’s love letter to his community of trans folks and leather dykes. Each painting depicts friends and lovers in vivid color. The imagery of queer intimacy and the domestic realm originates from play parties, bar nights, as well as from candid moments from daily life of transexual bodies in pleasure, creation, and community.
The photographic qualities of the work enhance the documentary aspects of the artist’s practice that nod to archival imagery of leather dykes from the 80s and 90s. Similarly, his zines capture the organizing O’Dwyer does within the Boston Leatherdyke scene, capturing a budding rebirth of the community over the last year.
A dirty queer home is a rave, a park bench, the light under a street lamp, a place to piss in the alley, an unmade bed, a meal with a lover, a collar around your neck, the glow of a laptop screen, a soft place, the smell of leather and sweat, a moment of being seen, a moment of being felt.
Public Programs
Opening Reception
Friday, August 31 | 6–9pm
BCA Mills Gallery, 551 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116
Join us for the opening reception of two exhibitions: J Rowen O’Dwyer: DEVOTIONS, to a dirty queer home, curated by Lillian O’Dwyer, and in the Project Room, Kate Wildman: prayers from the earth, 6-9pm in the Mills Gallery. On the same night from 5–8pm, explore the four floors of the Artist Studios Building next door and meet the artists currently in the BCA Studio Residency.
Holding Space for Grief
Friday, October 25, 2024 | 5–6 pm
BCA Mills Gallery, 551 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116
In honor of artists and beloved community members Danielle Abrams and Chick Byrne, artist J Rowen O’Dwyer and death doula Leo Sun welcome folks into the gallery to sit in remembrance, and grief. Queer grief is all around us, in lost connections to ancestors, in lost friends and lovers, in collective losses, and the acts of violence we witness each day. This space welcomes all types of grief and offers a space in community where all the emotions surrounding grief are welcome. In this gathering, we encourage members of the community to leave offerings on the altar in the gallery, share memories and stories, and processes together in this space.
No. 97: A Performance by Xray Aims
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 3–6 pm
BCA Mills Gallery, 551 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116
Experience this durational performance that intersects art and kink, and engages with beauty and pain. Xray Aims (they/them) will perform alongside collaborators to spark dialogue about gender and sexuality, connecting their bodies with each other and with the gallery space.
Note: Drop by at any point of the performance and stay as long as you desire. The performance includes some piercing elements that may be uncomfortable for some viewers. Please feel free to take care of yourself as needed.
J Rowen O’Dwyer. “Remy’s at 3am”. Oil on panel, 20”x16”. 2023.
J Rowen O’Dwyer. “Z with the Tattoo Gun”. Oil on panel, 16”x20”. 2023.
J Rowen O’Dwyer. “Lillian Pissing in the Woods”. Oil on panel. 2023.
About
About the Artist
J Rowen O’Dwyer
J Rowen O’Dwyer (they/he) is an interdisciplinary artist currently living and working in the Boston area. Their research focuses on generational queer histories of community organizing and embodiment practices in kink and leather communities. His paintings situate young queers within this rich history, shining a light on the human elements of connection and the healing, vulnerable act of seeing and being seen. Creating real spaces for liberation and connection is the foundation for O’Dwyer’s practice. At heart of his work is the time he spends in service to this community through event organizing, documenting moments, and forming lasting bonds and entanglements with others. They received their M.F.A. from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and their B.A. in studio art from Agnes Scott College.
About the Curator
Lillian O’Dwyer
Lillian O’Dwyer (they/she) is an independent curator and public historian living in Boston, Massachusetts. Their curatorial work documents the ways that contemporary art is utilized as tools for community building and radical change. She weaves together archival materials of how artists and organizations interact with social movements with the current growth of community organizing in Boston, focusing specifically within dyke spaces. Their work centers the artist and community voice, questioning how we can create channels of connection between art and community. Their most notable curatorial experience was Can You Hear Us Now: Revolutionary Art of the Next Generation at Dalton Gallery in Atlanta, GA. They received their BA in Art History from Agnes Scott College.