Art byAdam Chuck

I always feel freer when wearing less. At home I’m usually in underwear or nude, and I’m comfortable being nude amongst friends and in most circumstances. I think it’s silly how taboo some parts of society make nudity — it’s just our bodies, and they come in many beautiful shapes that deserve to be celebrated.

I think it’s another level of appreciation of a person, and definitely makes for a more intimate connection. Like I said before, we come in a lot of beautiful shapes and I just want to appreciate all of my friends, every bit of them.

It doesn’t have to be a sexual thing either. Every December I go to Miami for Art Gaysel, a queer art fair hosted by Hotel Gaythering, and I’ve grown really close with a lot of the other artists. We usually make a trip to the nude beach, and it’s just so fun to be in the sun and in the ocean naked and surrounded by loved ones. I often do it alone too — naked in the ocean. Fort Tilden was lovely this summer.

I’ve always worked at a relatively small scale, but the work I’m mainly known for now has been on a smaller and smaller scale. A lot of it has to do with working from my phone — it makes for a one-to-one ratio, and also makes the viewer have to come in close and really interact with the paintings.

The pandemic was interesting times. I went through some not great living situations, but during the height of the first year I was making a lot of work, and was lucky to be getting some unemployment money. That plus art sales were really great. I was able to make the work I wanted and not have to worry about a day job.

Even after unemployment ended I was able to support myself, but Instagram made their algorithm stricter, as many of us know, and it really killed a lot of my sales. I recently moved into my own apartment, which is great but costly. I also started a barista job this summer, which I enjoy. It’s harder to have the energy to make work constantly like I was, but I am finding the balance.

I’ll have art in Miami during Art Gaysel in December at Hotel Gaythering, and since it is hard to make myself seen on Instagram, I’ll just say I’m always available to take on commissions, and original paintings are available on my site.