Unconditionally embracing queer desire as natural and ever-present, Louis Fratino paints memories of the quietly sublime. His lovers, friends and family adorn his canvasses in vibrant glory, their casual everyday comfort rendered in Louis’s loving brushstrokes. His subjects feel intimately at home, their bodies revealing secrets familiar to the sensitive eye. Entangled figures and reflections of subway passengers moving through colourful cityscapes weave a web of contemporary urban life through his oeuvre, which reaches back in time through its evocative references to Cubism and Fauvism. Tying together past and present, Louis’s paintings form a city of their own, rich with longing, history and connection. Having studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Louis was included in the 60th Venice Biennale and is represented by David Zwirner Gallery.