Opening reception July 16 (5–7 p.m.)  

Nationale is pleased to welcome back artists Christian Rogers and Shohei Takasaki for their first exhibition together,  Curly Hair / Hot Metal, opening July 15 in the gallery. These two bodies of work build off of one another, blending  together exploratory colorways and figural juxtapositions to extend to the audience an uninhibited expression of  creative sensuality.  

Christian Rogers uses paint, graphite, collage, and sculpted surfaces to explore themes of unabashed queer love, lust,  and joy. Resting halfway between reality and fantasy, Rogers’ collaged men in his paintings and drawings are found  imagery sourced from vintage erotic magazines. Their inclusion amid the floral, romantic landscapes he builds are a  means of preserving and memorializing a collective queer history he finds himself entangled in. The frames within  which the paintings are housed are equally as compelling in their presentation. Sculpted paper-pulp in pinks and  yellows bubble from the surface, resembling the curves of a pectoral muscle or chiseled bicep, and over the bodily  shapes, layers of fluorescent paint function like skin. Like metal on a hot, hot day, these works radiate heat, passion,  and queer bliss.  

Shohei Takasaki similarly teeters within a field of desire, abstracting from direct figuration to play with shapes, lines,  and exaggerated dimensions. Sinewy, dynamic arms and legs stretch across the loud color-blocked canvases to cut a  rose, wield swords, and expand boldly within the constraints of the works. These characters are less overt vessels of  desire but imply a similar promiscuity that is hinted at through Takasaki’s veiled details such as the curvature of a  suggested torso or the subtle liſting of a garment. His paintings and drawings layer visually exciting forms atop a  gridded underlay meant to reference realistic streets and blocks, and more broadly our metropolitan values of  urbanity and organization rationale. This “man-made” element comes to a head with the raw, organic, and  unpredictable nature of his overall narratives. 

CHRISTIAN ROGERS & SHOHEI TAKASAKI  

Curly Hair / Hot Metal 

Existing in joyous synchronicity, the pieces in Curly Hair / Hot Metal stand as brazen digressions from formal, stiff categorization. Here, above all, the details of a lover’s curl, the human form, and one’s unencumbered right to  expression are revered.  

Christian Rogers was born and raised in Portland, OR. He received his BFA from Western Oregon University and his  MFA from Hunter College in New York City. His work has been exhibited nationally, including at Disturb The Neighbors  and Galerie Protégé in New York, Noon Projects and Lauren Powell Projects in Los Angeles, Nationale and the  Portland Art Museum’s Miller Gallery in Portland, OR, and at the University of North Dakota. Rogers’ work can be found  in the permanent collections of the Western Oregon University Student Union and the Denver Art Museum. He is a 2016  Kossak Travel Grant recipient at Hunter College and has been living and working in Los Angeles since 2017. 

Shohei Takasaki (b. 1979, Saitama, Japan) lives and works in Sydney, Australia. Self-taught, Takasaki works in both  abstraction and figuration. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held in Portland, OR, at Upfor and Nationale, and  internationally in Kuwait, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan. Takasaki has been featured in many publications, including  Booooooom, Tokion, Popeye, Neut, Acclaim, Antenna, Arab Times, and Shiſt. 

Christian Rogers, Gay Cruise Line, 2022, Acrylic, paper pulp, and collage on panel, 36 x 30 inches

Shohei Takasaki, Untitled (June 22 2022), 2022, Oil pastel and charcoal on canvas, 52 x 48 inches