Primarily interested in the aesthetics of sexuality, Elsa Rouy’s paintings ooze carnal desire and blend a sense of intimate co-dependency with the jaded feelings of post-coital reflection. The figures Rouy paints are usually found physically intertwined, enwrapped in various processes of bodily exchange - often romantic but sometimes maternal. If you feel a sense of visceral excitement or discomfort when looking at these artworks, it’s deliberate. Picking up where artists like Dorothy Iannone or Betty Tompkins have left off, Rouy seems motivated to challenge popular representations of attraction and abjection with her own distinctly yonic vision of contemporary erotics. Elsa Rouy’s recent exhibition history includes: No Time Like The Present at PUBLIC Gallery (London, UK) and Plastic don't sweat at Guts Gallery (London, UK).
