Female sexuality has a complicated artistic history. Women’s bodies have often been presented independently from their own wants and desires, filtered through the male gaze, objectified, and pornified within wider culture.
As part of a growing cultural understanding of women’s right to define their sexuality on their own terms, two group shows are rejecting this vision, exploring the many ways in which women artists express eroticism, sensuality, and connection, while confronting deeply rooted social stigmas.
Meanwhile, in New York, the Museum of Sex has also invited three artists to delve into desire and the idea of “appetite.” “I Licked It, It’s Mine,” on view through January 19, 2025, presents a mischievous view of sexuality through the eyes of Oh de Laval, Shafei Xia, and Urara Tsuchiya. The exhibition is jubilant and carnal, featuring a cast of flushed human figures and wild animals. “My co-curator Amanda Assaf and I were drawn in by the exuberance of these three artists,” said the museum’s chief curator Ariel Plotek in an interview with Artsy. “I hesitate to use the word ‘joy,’ because there’s something a little darker in Oh de Laval’s sense of humor. But certainly, there’s something playful and irreverent in the work of all three artists, and a preoccupation with manifesting pleasure and desire.”
Polish Thai artist Oh de Laval explores 21st-century eroticism that takes in all aspects of sexuality, from lust, to despair, to happiness. Her bodies are rendered in thick, visceral strokes, surrounded by exaggerated Rococo-inspired interiors and abundant greenery.
