Paintings — Bobby Abate

GRAVEL PAINTINGS DRAWINGS QUEER OBJECTS TWILIGHT INKS

VACATION BOUND?
Indelible ink painted on paper
with text from a New York Times article on the first homosexual executed in Yemen in August 1966
22"x30" / 2023

WHO ELSE, BESIDES MYSELF, IS SUBJECT TO QUERELLE'S CHARMS?
Indelible ink painted on paper
with text from Querelle of Brest by Jean Genet22"x30" / 2023

SEX WITHOUT FEAR
Ink, Graphite and Crayola Marker on Arches Paper
22"x30" / 2024

BUST
Ink and Graphite on Paper
24x18” / 2024

STARES SPELL SENTENCES
Indelible ink painted on paper
22"x30" / 2023

CROWS & CRANES
Ink and Graphite on Paper
18”x24” / 2024

MANHOOD
Ink, acrylic and gouache on paper
11"x13" / 2023

BUZZARD
Ink and Graphite on Paper
24x18” / 2024

GAY LITTLE MANHATTAN
Ink and Graphite on Paper
18”x24” / 2024

FISHER CATS
Ink and Graphite on Paper
18”x24” / 2024

CROWS
Ink and Graphite on Paper
24x18” / 2024

HIDEAWAY
Collage of acrylic ink, colored pencil
54"x42"/ 2023

THE OUTCASTS
Indelible ink and gouache painted on paper
with text from a 1964 issue of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
18"x24" / 2023

PIG PILE
Ink & Acrylic on Paper
24x18 / 2023

SECRET LAIR
Ink on Paper
18x18" / 2023

NO MORE PRETENSE
Indelible ink painted on paper
18"x18" / 2023

MEAT MARKET
Indelible ink painted on paper
18"x18" / 2023

MAX FACTOR FANTASYSCAPE
Watercolor, gouache and colored pencil on paper
12"x12" / 2023

CENTERFOLD
Indelible ink painted on paper
18"x18" / 2023

SHOULD YOU TAKE A QUEER TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY?
Indelible ink and gouache painted on paper
18"x24" / 2023

OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS
Watercolor, gouache, graphite and colored pencil on paper
12"x12" / 2022

GIOVANNI'S ROOM
Watercolor, gouache and colored pencil on paper
12"x12" / 2023

BRAINIAC
Watercolor, gouache, ink, and colored pencil on paper
12"x12" / 2023

My work combines personal and political narratives, reflecting my experience as a queer individual coming of age in the 1980s amidst pervasive homophobia and the silencing impact of AIDS. Drawing on queer-coded obsessions from my past—from limp-wristed Looney Tunes to flamboyant supervillains—and discoveries from research, my works connect wildly disparate imagery, evoking humor, sexual tension, dysphoria, nostalgia, and rebellion. For my paintings, I primarily use indelible ink on paper. The process of shaping watery, densely pigmented inks as they absorb into the paper feels akin to the act of creating memories—permanent impressions that fade and change with time.