Ria Brodell
Brodell's work has appeared in The Guardian, ARTnews, The Boston Globe, The Cut,[4] New American Paintings, and Art New England.
In this series the artist attempted to bring together seemingly contradictory aspects of their childhood- queer sexuality, struggles with gender identity, family and Catholicism.
In a Q&A article written by Jess T. Dugan for Strange Fire, Brodell states, "The Handsome and the Holy was the first time I tried to tackle the subject of my gender identity, sexuality and Catholic upbringing through painting.
As a kid, part of me knew that something was "queer" about who I was attracted to, and who I wanted to be (Cary Grant, Ken, the Prince in all the Disney movies), but I didn't have the language or the knowledge to understand what that meant.
[7] Brodell does this through the style of Catholic holy cards - intricate depictions of saints or martyrs that tell a visual story and are meant for "private, portable devotions.
This work led them to research queer historical figures that were assigned female at birth, but masculine presenting, and eventually to pursue the well-known Butch Heroes series.
Ria Brodell's most popular series, Butch Heroes, began in 2010 following the making of their work Self Portrait as a Nun or a Monk, circa 1250.
[13] In creating the Butch Heroes series, Brodell paints images that remain true to Catholic holy cards by centering "the featured individual or couple" and including "details of symbolic significance, such as a location" or a meaningful object.
[14] The works in this series all follow a similar style with the use of "bright and contrasting colors" alongside "bold designs" to capture the audience's attention.
[15] The paintings depict, "people who were assigned female at birth, had documented relationships with women, and whose gender presentation was more masculine than feminine.
For me, this format is a perfect (subversive) way to present the lives of people who were long forgotten and abused during their lifetime, especially because so many of them were accused of "mocking God and His order" or deceiving their fellow Christians.
In February 2018, the Davis Museum at Wellesley College released a limited edition Butch Heroes boxed card set.
Since its release the book has been described as "an ambitious and wonderfully celebratory ode to the lives of 28 people over many centuries 'assigned female at birth' who 'had documented relationships with women, and whose gender presentation was more masculine than feminine...
"[22] "Butch Heroes is a fascinating, intersectional, feminist art-text project, and overall a rather wonderful reclamatory book of LGBT history that subvert and resonates in the human psyche.
"[27] In a 2016 interview with Jess Dugan, Brodell explained that this project stemmed from their "strong interest in animal rights and conservation" and by July 2016, the series contained over 200 pieces.
[33] Brodell states they are the only explorer of these boundless locations; therefore, their artwork is their execution of their experiences from observing the creatures that solely inhabit the uncolonized lands.
[30] The collection of creatures includes Wormbunnies (social communal animals), the Whale and his friend submarine (go on adventures), the birdmen (manipulative), the Sodmonsters and the Clumps (unappeasable and temperamental).
