FEATURED ARTISTS

Sex + Art = TULIP

TULIP is not only a revolutionary sex toy shop, but also a cutting -edge art gallery. 

TULIP is committed to showcasing Chicago's most talented, up and coming artists' work through gallery openings.  What better atmosphere to shop for luxe sex toys and accessories than an art gallery?  What better atmosphere to shop for art than a space committed to the diverse pleasures, desires, and ways of being in the world that Tulip represents, a world that serves as inspiration for many artists?

January Through April, Lenny Gilmore's art will be on Display at Tulip's Wicker Park Location

Artist statement and sample images coming soon! Until then, please feel free to check out his projects by visiting his website: lennygilmore.com.

December through March, Micheal Egon Schiele's art will be on Display at Tulip's Boystown Location

Artist's Statement:
In today's world, sex appeal has been focus-grouped to commodified perfection. Our minds' and our bodies' are solicited daily by glamorous models drinking champagne in high heels and little else, usually in promotion of a new product and a high class lifestyle. Assuredly, it makes sense to characterize sex with such lustful bravado, but the passion exists in life through a broad spectrum of circumstances, from awkward playfulness to opulent luxury. 

As much as our sexual appetites thrive in fantasy they lay an equal claim to the visceral. Our desires inherently include that which is beyond our reach, yet must intrinsically be most fulfilled not by our fantasies, but by our realities. Just as lingerie and candlelight may arouse, sweatpants and a dirty look are equally seductive.

I feel it is important to admit the sex appeal of our own lives, the muddy heels and Sunday morning sunshine which compels us to make love. The music video world of thongs and flashing lights may tantalize, but ultimately it is our lover's lips or exposed breast that turns us on.

The media is only a manifestation of our collective lives, not a competing component. The lustful, dirty allure that exists in our entertainment is more real when you're appreciating the outline of your own lover's physique; love more overwhelming when it's your finger in a humble ring than a model's sparkling diamond in a magazine. After all, nearly the only real sex that happens in the photographer's world is that performed by paid 'professionals'; not by ravenous lovers.

In my photographs I hope to capture desire honestly, to not only capitalize on our steamy libidos, but our bashful compassion as well. Our lives are not just varying proportions of the sacred and the profane, but a sacred profanity capable of attacks on our loins as equally as our hearts. Embracing this entanglement, we might fully experience our sexuality and the love and desire it represents.


Micheal Egon Schiele

                                                         Sample  Photographs

                                            More to see at the Actual Location

The first thing I photographed was my own nude body and its contorted, bare, fleshy skin. I am drawn to the limits within abstraction and beauty. Most of my work seeks to expose small details, not as a whole or representing what they come from, but just those specific details as the center of attention.
 
Lighting techniques and composition play a major role in my work.  I am exploring the skin's fine texture and using it to create abstractions with faint surface referents that bring the viewer back to the body.

I am also exploring the line in relation to the body. How the body can be contorted, bent, and placed so that it creates an interesting linear composition. A line that might tell a story about what our bodies have been through.
 
Dark shadows also work their way into my images. Shadows that engulf, mask, and mystify. Shadows that create lines too; lines that form something else. In my work, shadow helps create more dramatic compositions, isolating certain details that are sometimes so subtle they can be missed if you don't look close enough.
 
I am constantly brought back to the human body, whether female or male. There is something that always attracts me. Our bodies are just a portal. We use them to transmit information, to do things and interact with the world. I find it very interesting that our bodies are what we identify ourselves with. We are obsessed with the way we look. I find it very interesting to connect our understanding of the world to our understanding of our ourselves through our bodies. We identify ourselves by how we look and then compare ourselves to others.

Sara Stubblefield

                                        Sample Photographs

                               More to see at the Actual Location