Sex Drive brings together artworks that address sexuality in a variety of ways. The participating artists bring their own pleasures and political dispositions to bear on issues of identity and gender, romance and lust, religious and legal strictures, and public scandals.

The timing could not be more appropriate for Sex Drive. We are living in a time when the line between private and public is eroding quickly. People post images and videos of their sexual escapades on the internet regularly. Almost every week it seems that a politician, entertainer, sports figure, or member of the clergy is caught in a sexual scandal featuring unseemly and disappointing acts of infidelity and betrayal (John Edwards, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, Tiger Woods, and Bishop Eddie Long, to name a few). Other recent circumstances include President Barack Obama signing legislation that repeals “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the seventeen-year-old law barring gays and lesbians from openly serving in the U.S. military, and New York state’s vote to legalize gay marriage.

The artists included in Sex Drive are not trying to be overtly sensational or transgressive. Their works are provocative and thought-provoking, and examine the impulses and expectations around sex in subtle ways. Their works ask questions including: How do we learn about sex? Which people and what agencies govern what is considered normal or legal when it comes to desire? What do we think of the current rules and regulations? Sex Drive serves as a prompt for audiences to assess their own beliefs and opinions about these always relevant subjects.

A version of this exhibition was presented at Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, Jan 28-Mar 4, 2011.

Artists include Lisa Alembik, Larry Jens Anderson, Ion Birch, Vertna Bradley, Lynn Cazabon, Patricia Cronin, Tracey Emin, Steve Gianakos, Leon Golub, Wayne Koestenbaum, Leigh Ledare, Christopher Makos, Melanie Manchot, Laurel Nakadate, Forest McMullin, Michael Patterson-Carver, Mira Schor, Susan Silas, and Nancy VanDevender.

Warning: Some works in the exhibition contain mature content and might not be suitable for children.


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Images:
Leigh Ledare, The Gift, 2008, Video still, Courtesy the artist
Michael Patterson-Carver, Sometimes Demonstrations Become Celebrations, 2009, Ink, pencil, and watercolor on paper, Private Collection, New Jersey
Patricia Cronin, Memorial To A Marriage, 2004, Curabel ink on twill fabric, Courtesy the artist