Intimate Companions
Mary Heaton Vorse House, Provincetown, MA

Joe Sheftel is pleased to announce the opening of Intimate Companions, the inaugural exhibition hosted by the Provincetown Arts Society at the Mary Heaton Vorse House. The title of the group exhibition referencesIntimate Companions: A Triography of George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, Lincoln Kirstein and Their Circle by author and playwright David Leddick.

The exhibition focuses on figurative painting, photography and sculpture by historic and contemporary artists. The over 30 artists on view range from Jared French, George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus and David Wojnarowicz, to Paul Sepuya, Doron Langberg, Jenna Gribbon and Danielle Orchard. The artists explore the body and intimate personal relationships as inherently political spaces wherein one can create meaning and a foundation of mutual support, despite hostile external conditions.

The location of the exhibition at the former home of Mary Heaton Vorse underscores the exploration of these themes. Vorse was a journalist, novelist, labor activist, suffragette and peace advocate, whose home was as an important node in the development of progressive culture through activism, writing, and the arts. A new addition to the Provincetown cultural scene, the Mary Heaton Vorse House has been restored as a community oriented ArtsH ub by designer Ken Fulk.

The exhibition furthers the Provincetown Arts Society mission to create a platform and home for the town’s arts organizations, welcoming new perspectives and promoting wide reaching, inclusive arts engagement on the Cape.

Michael Cunningham has written an essay on the occasion of the exhibition and the opening of the Vorse house.

Special thanks to all artists and lenders, especially PPOW, Alexander Gray, John Kunemund, Thor Shannon and Robert Goff at David Zwirner, Albert Merola and James Balla, John Dowd, David Cafiero, Michael Cunningham, Gene Tartaglia and Ken Fulk.

Participating Artists:
Patrick Angus · Leilah Babirye · Alvin Baltrop · Jen Bradley · Paul Cadmus · Scott Covert Anthony Cudahy · John Dowd · Daphne Fitzpatrick · Jared French · Nash Glynn · Steph Gorkii Jenna Gribbon · Lyle Ashston Harris · Charles Hawthorne · David Hockney · Lester Johnson Doron Langberg · George Platt Lynes · Kunle Martins · Ryan McGinley · Made by Peter McGough Sam McKinniss · Luke O’Halloran · Danielle Orchard · Betty Parsons · Jack Pierson · Larry Rivers Carlos Rodriguez · Paul Mpagi Sepuya · Hugh Steers · Billy Sullivan · Tabboo! · Wolfgang Tillmans Thomas Tomczak · George Tooker · Anna Weyant · Robin F. Williams · David Wojnarowicz

Images courtesy Fredericks & Freiser Gallery Archives.