Holstad’s varied art practice, which includes drawing, performance, installation, and sculpture, has a homespun, crafty aesthetic. His collages pair vintage magazine images of retro-chic family homes and grand locales like the White House with images from a subculture of desire and fantasy. Holstad’s intention is, he has said, to "take pornography and make it beautiful" to counter the fact that "for gay people, our first sexual experiences are often hidden, or occur in seedy places." The artist subverts the clandestine nature of such encounters by putting them, as he says, "in high-gloss, glamorous settings with vivid lively patterns and colors."

Gallery label from

Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, April 22, 2009–January 4, 2010.

Medium Cut-and-pasted printed paper on paper
Dimensions 11 3/8 x 16" (28.9 x 40.6 cm)
Credit The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection Gift
Object number 1896.2005
Department Drawings and Prints

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