Kyle Dunn: Night Pictures at P.P.O.W
My previous review was critical of Tom Burr for his white male able bodied navel gaze, indulging in the drama and beauty of people who are identity-identical to him. Kyle Dunn too is a white male homosexual—just as able bodied—making art that indulges in classically beautiful and healthy young gay bodies. But his gentleness and quiet tone completely won me over. Night Pictures is a show of paintings made with charming attention to detail. There is a delicate pleasure here: in the way a young man sticks his fingers in a thick paintbrush, an olive bouncing on a large ice cube, a flamboyant haircut gleaming in dim light. Dunn’s paintings reflect an intimate way of looking closely and seeing well. Bodies of men and dogs, objects, light, and dirt are brought onto the canvas with care and curiosity. Even if Dunn is somewhat stuck in a lazy, exclusive dreamy world, I do not want to shake him from it.