Photos: Joseph Alexiou
Last Saturday we checked in at the opening of opening of a gallery showcase for the works of painter Olan Montgomery—a prolific gay artist who creates paintings from photos of celebrities. The trick is, as far as Montgomery is concerned, that all of his subjects are celebrities, from big name-artists like Boy George and Alan Cumming to colorful New York personalities like Amanda LePore, Michael Musto, Jonny McGovern and Kevin Aviance. As artist Jason LeBlond puts it, Olan “glamorizes the ordinary.”
The petite fête was celebrating the upcoming release of Montgomery’s book of his collected works, POP: Art inspired by New York’s Own Subcultures from Celebrity to Subway.
Another creative soul greeting guests was legendary door queen and club kid Kenny Kenny. He has watched Montgomery grow into a big deal—the artist’s portraits first debuted at this genderfuck fasionista’s party at Plaid—the defunct East Village hotspot—in 2002.
“The paintings of people were hanging from the ceiling,” Kenny explained, “and everyone was so excited. There were pictures of Pat Field, Amanda LePore, Sofia Lamar, and so on. They were excited to see themselves represented in art.”
Being acknowledged as part of a scene brought a sense of togetherness to these people, said Kenny. “He’s an artist documenting a period and time of New York and the nightlife scene.”
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