Friday night’s opening at the Fredericks and Freiser Gallery in Chelsea saw a much more colorful crowd than the usual swarm of aging bohemians. A neoclassicist of sorts, artist Zak Smith, pictured, (who moonlights in adult videos as Zak Sabbath) paints his alt-porn friends and acquaintances with astonishing beauty in all scenarios, from nobly posed portraits to money shots, and many of his models had turned up for the occasion.
Prominently featured was Smith’s pint-sized, pink-mohawked girlfriend Mandy Morbid, who appears often in Smith’s spread of notebook sketches, as well as in a large-scale portrait rendered lovingly in monumental detail.
Statuesque diva Manko Suicide cut a dramatic figure next to her likeness in a frilly skirt and tank top adorned with sparkly erotica; and model/designer Temper Suicide, groggy from her long trek from Berlin, was nice enough to chat with fans as well. Eager to meet their Internet friends, several other models for Suicidegirls.com had showed, including Calamity, Fatality, Ginary, and Dot Suicide.Also milling about were tattoo artist Tim Kern and photographer Steve Prue, both of whose work can be seen on the neo-pinup site. Once turned out of the gallery, the whole crew retired to Billymark’s West, one of the last true dive bars in the neighborhood, for beer and pizza.Though Smith himself was not imbibing, the drink tickets he doled out kept everyone merry. “Thanks for coming,” he told each admirer as they introduced themselves and complimented his work, then pointed out for them which table contained which type of pizza. We left full and happy and surprised to find out that a night of pizza and porn isn’t much wilder outside than it is at home.
Prominently featured was Smith’s pint-sized, pink-mohawked girlfriend Mandy Morbid, who appears often in Smith’s spread of notebook sketches, as well as in a large-scale portrait rendered lovingly in monumental detail.
Statuesque diva Manko Suicide cut a dramatic figure next to her likeness in a frilly skirt and tank top adorned with sparkly erotica; and model/designer Temper Suicide, groggy from her long trek from Berlin, was nice enough to chat with fans as well. Eager to meet their Internet friends, several other models for Suicidegirls.com had showed, including Calamity, Fatality, Ginary, and Dot Suicide.Also milling about were tattoo artist Tim Kern and photographer Steve Prue, both of whose work can be seen on the neo-pinup site. Once turned out of the gallery, the whole crew retired to Billymark’s West, one of the last true dive bars in the neighborhood, for beer and pizza.Though Smith himself was not imbibing, the drink tickets he doled out kept everyone merry. “Thanks for coming,” he told each admirer as they introduced themselves and complimented his work, then pointed out for them which table contained which type of pizza. We left full and happy and surprised to find out that a night of pizza and porn isn’t much wilder outside than it is at home.
