Meet the Artist Reception: Cupid Ojala

Members of the public are invited to a reception for artist Cupid Ojala during First Friday. Ojala’s work is part of “Art & You: Antonius-Tín Bui and Cupid Ojala,” the current exhibition at The Gallery at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.

Bui and Ojala expand the boundaries of portraiture by applying innovative methods to otherwise traditional mediums. Both artists use an intricate delicacy and interplay of negative space to present work that is a celebratory reflection on personal identity and the LGBTQ+ community. Ojala’s quiet cumulation of fine lines meticulously captures the likeness of his subjects and questions ideas of traditional masculinity.

A Brooklyn-based artist, Ojala earned his MFA from Parsons, The New School for Design. His work deals with the concepts of transformation and desire from a transgender man’s perspective. Ojala draws figurative compositions that utilize the absence of detail to draw attention to anatomy. Using only ink and paper, he employs line to craft a space filled with the illusion of human hair to create surprisingly revealing portraits. Ojala has exhibited and performed nationally and internationally at the Institute of Contemporary Art, PA; Stamp Gallery at University of Maryland, MD; and Turnhalle in Bern, Switzerland.

Free and open to the public, featuring light refreshments.