"Ambiguous Storytellers" a group exhibition curated by Bill Arning opens at LUNCH gallery, NYC

I’m thrilled and honored to be showing one of largest paintings “Slow Dancing” (2025) in this juicy and thought-provoking exhibition of ‘ambigous’ narrative painting!

Brian Kenny “Slow Dancing” (2025), oil on canvas, 54 x 54 inches

Ambiguous Storytellers
Presented by Bill Arning Exhibitions
January 17 – February 21, 2026

Opening Reception:
Friday, January 16, 6–8pm

Featuring Hannah Barrett, Tyler Brandon, Ario Elami, Matthew Gilbert, TJ Griffin, Jeffrey Heiman, Brian Kenny, Phil Knoll, Steven Lack, Scooter LaForge, Jean Paul Mallozzi, Daniel Morowitz, Donna Moylan, Rajab Ali Sayed, Joachim West, and Erik Daniel White.

Performances & Readings:
Saturday, January 24th, 7pm
Kevin Tobin

Friday, January 30th, 7pm
Wayne Koestenbaum & Jason Schneiderman

Saturday, January 31st, 7pm
Enid Ellen

Gallery Hours:
Thursday through Sunday, 1–6pm

LUNCH
(Located Under NADA’s Central Headquarters)
311 East Broadway, Floor 2
New York, NY 10002

installation view at LUNCH gallery.

installation view at LUNCH gallery

Identity: Held in the Light, The National Arts Club, NYC; a group exhibition curated by Robert Yahner and Yuki James.

I was honored to be showing two large scale drawings as a part of a stellar group exhibition “Identity: Held in the Light” at the legendary National Arts Club opening this Wednesday evening here in New York City. I’m honored to be showing alongside my friends Yuki James, Gio Black Peter and
Walt Cessna, as well some absolute icons like Keith Haring, Peter Hujar, Duane Michals and Pierre Molinier!

The exhibition features the works of Amanda Ba, Drake Carr, Walter Cessna, Lola Flash, Pia Paulina Guilmoth, Martine Gutierrez, Keith Haring, Peter Hujar, Yuki James, Brian Kenny, Clifford Prince King, Brian Lantelme, Duane Michals, Pierre Molinier, Gio Black Peter, Carlos Rodriguez, Blake Sterling, and Jimmy Wright.

June 4 - 27, 2025
Opening reception and celebration June 4 6-9pm
The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park, NY NY 10003

Brian Kenny, “More Than Ever” (2014) mixed media on shooting target paper, 22.5 x 34 inches.

Brian Kenny “Skinwalker” (2021) mixed media on shooting target paper, 22.5 x 34 inches.

MY ROMANTIC IDEAL a group exhibition of queer photography curated by Slava Mogutin opens at The Bureau of General Services, Queer Division, LGBT Center in NYC

I’m honored and excited to be a part of this fantastic summer group exhibition in Manhattan with so many truly brilliant queer artists. For my part, I am showing two self-portraits from my 2009 series “Night Moves”

Curatorial statement by Slava Mogutin:

My Romantic Ideal is a queer photography exhibition that explores the intersections of intimacy, desire, and identity in the contemporary landscape of escalating culture wars, with state-sponsored, religious and corporate homophobia and censorship on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic.

As queer artists, we occupy spaces where love and lust collide, where fantasy and reality dissolve, and where the body becomes both a site of pleasure and protest. This collection of work from 28 emerging and established photographers—each with their unique vision, background, and experience—offers a kaleidoscopic view into the multifaceted and often contradictory nature of queer romance.

The title of the exhibition reflects the tension between societal expectations of romance and the deeply personal, rebellious, and liberating expressions of love and desire that queer artists present. Romantic ideals have historically been dictated and shaped by heteronormative frameworks, but here, we subvert and redefine them through a queer lens. Each artist challenges, queers, and reclaims the concept of romanticism in their own way, whether through intimate portraiture, raw documentation of lived experiences, or surreal, dreamlike compositions.

As a curator, I aimed to gather a selection of artists whose work resonates with the complexities of queer love, desire, and identity in their many forms. These photographers are not simply documenting a queer reality—they are creating new paradigms of romanticism, fueled by their journeys and passions. Together, their works form a vibrant intergenerational dialogue about the politics of love, the performance of romance, and the transformative power of queer eroticism.

My Romantic Ideal is not just an exhibition of photography, but a declaration of the many ways we, as queer artists, claim and redefine love—on our own terms, with all its contradictions, joys, and struggles.

---

My Romantic Ideal

A Queer Photography exhibition curated by Slava Mogutin

May 1 – August 31, 2025

Bureau of General Services—Queer Division
Room 210 of The LGBT Community Center
208 W 13th Street
NYC 10011