GAYLETTER

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

A fantasy to be free, where taboos become normal. A world of sideward glances in bathhouses, a stage for the theatrics of sullied machismo. This is the world of Eric Lotzer (b. 1987), a New York City-based visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, he relocated to Brooklyn after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2010. He doesn’t drink, though he’d prefer wine to liquor if he had to choose. In terms of porn stars, he’d describe himself as a healthy mix of Hank Ditmar, Rocco Steele, and Matthew Camp.

Lotzer first moved to Brooklyn for the parties and the boys. His early drawings focused on the characters he encountered in New York’s nightlife, highlighting moments when sexuality became unbounded and uncomfortable. Now a third-year MFA student at Hunter College, Lotzer depicts subjects at once sensual and grotesque. In crowded showers, sweaty club backrooms, and jail cells, their impulses run amok.

Struck by the bravado of these homoerotic interactions, Lotzer turned to caricature to capture their emotional hyperextension. Like a kid’s cartoon flashing close-ups of toenails or knuckles, Lotzer’s drawings tease out discomfort by inflating what might normally remain hidden. His subjects are blunt, unapologetic, and hot.

But if nothing else, the men in Lotzer’s drawings are free. They live in a world where urges are unchecked, and showers are for fucking. Especially in the Instagram age, their disregard for the viewer’s gaze is conspicuous. They couldn’t even be bothered to confine their sexuality to the bedroom — let alone flex their abs or shop their face. The inhabitants of Lotzer’s world are uncompromising, using and portraying their bodies as they please.

As Audre Lorde said (and as Lotzer reminded me), “the erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” Lotzer’s subjects navigate desire and physicality without restraint, performing an eroticism as outlandish as it is honest.

To see the rest of the feature pre-order a copy of GAYLETTER Issue 12 here.

Eric Lotzer, self-portrait, 2020.