Longtime Austin resident and interdisciplinary artist Heyd Fontenot returns to Texas after a lengthy artist’s residency on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, bringing with him a collection of freshly minted drawings and large scale paintings never before exhibited in Austin.

Fontenot’s stylized nude portraits are prized for their beautiful draftsmanship and unexpected humor and his artwork focusing on the human figure has been widely exhibited for more than 20 years. Within the sex-saturated psyche of American culture, the artist combats both religious dogma and conservative hypocrisy to celebrate humanity in all of its lovely imperfection. These paintings and drawings present a political argument in favor of bodily autonomy as the artist lays claim to territory for queerness.

With “I C U,” Fontenot continues to explore the human form in addition to experimenting with immersive installation. While the artist was based in Austin from 1989-2011 he contributed to the local arts scene as a muralist, a designer for theater and film, an experimental filmmaker and music video director and of course as a visual artist.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on display until February 26.