HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - An exhibition of sadomasochistic art exploring the world of fetish and the fringes of the culture will open on Feb. 14 at Antebellum Gallery.
"What better day to explore the pleasure of pain than on the day of love?" said gallery owner Rick Castro.
Antebellum Gallery, the world's only fetish art gallery, will be steeped in Victorian nuances with a salon-style setting designed to encourage conversation. Castro said he hopes attendees gain an appreciation of fetish as art and a better understanding of the history of S&M and how it always has been part of human sexuality.
One of the more popular pieces at the gallery is the "Tony Ward Toilet" (TWT), a working toilet that is a permanent exhibit. The TWT is curated by Tony Ward, a fetish model, painter and photographer.
"I've had people from as far away as Helsinki, Finland and Santa Rosa, Calif., make pilgrimages here to the TWT," Castro said.
The exhibition also will showcase pieces from The Marquis de Sade (1790s), the books Venus in Furs (1870) and Story of O (1954), items from New York's Hellfire Club (1970s), the movie Salo (1975), photos by Robert Mapplethorpe (1980s), Madonna's book Sex (1992), and photos by Mitchel Evans (2000s) and from Rick Castro's 13 Years of Bondage (2003).
Castro's work has been published in exhibitions and institutions worldwide and archived at the UCLA library and the Leather Museum in Chicago. He is an independent curator, filmmaker and photographer.
The exhibition will run for about four weeks. Admission to the gallery is $5.
For more information on the Antebellum Gallery and featured pieces, visit RickCastro.com.
