How do you paint a secret? And who can decipher it?
In his paintings, Martin Gustavsson takes an interest in looking lustfully, which is why some artworks appeal to him more than others. A painting which isn’t necessarily perceived as homoerotic, might for somebody else be full of visual clues – clues that point out and create a place invisible to most others. Is this a recognition and
a confirmation of you existing as a sentient being? The artwork begins to see you and you, the viewer, have been seen.

In the exhibition at Kalmar konstmuseum, Martin Gustavsson considers the interplay between viewer, artwork, and artist. The exchange creates a space which regardless of time or physical location can be opened or kept closed depending on who sees and with what look.

Martin Gustavsson shows his paintings aligned with works by three historical artists – Lotte Laserstein (1898–1993), Owe Zerge (1894–1983) and James Barry (1741–1806). They all share an interest in the body, painting figures and bodies in their proximity. Both Laserstein and Zerge lived in times when life for artists fundamentally changed. What are the implications of the homoerotic looking having been shunned and sham- ed? What have the effects been on the history of art and on the artists who shared this looking, or experienced the exclusion?