Dutes Miller and “they will not ruin us…”

Miller, Ass Mandala 1, 2009.

It takes a moment for unaccustomed eyes to adjust to Dutes Miller’s collages of gay porn, which cover an entire wall of his show “The Ecstasyist.” Their fractured limbs and skin amplify pornography’s attempts to fulfill an insatiable desire. The awkward humor inherent in all porn (artificially splayed bodies, comically intense stares) creates a disarming atmosphere in the gallery, allowing for honest communication between artist and viewer.

In other works, the Chicago artist incorporates symbols of extreme masculinity—wrestlers, hairy thighs and looming phalluses—into oddly beautiful, intense paintings of swirling purples and reds. Miller’s raunchy subject matter may prevent sensitive viewers from appreciating his work, but to write it off as shock art is a mistake: Culling images from Internet pickup sites, he turns them into figure-study drawings that showcase the unconventional beauty of raw sexuality.

In Gallery 2, Philip von Zweck brings together seven artists’ small-scale works on paper in “they will not ruin us through the things that we like.” There are a number of strong pieces on display, but they suffer from an overcrowded installation. Only Joel Dean’s and Mindy Rose Schwartz’s paintings—whose intriguing, self-contained narratives belie their small dimensions—and Amy Vogel’s quiet, untitled gouaches provide the salon-style layout with breathing space.

• More Art & Design reviews
• More Art & Design articles