Connoisseurs of the creepy and captivating! Seduction: Monstrous is a week from Saturday! As our monster-filled evening of devilish and decadent delights looms ever closer, we want to introduce you to the creators behind the art that will be on our walls. Without further fanfare, let us introduce the featured artists of Seduction: Monstrous!
Nero Villagallos O’Reilly
Nero is a Seattle-based indigenous Panamanian (Guna) and Mexican (Oaxaca) cartoonist with 10+ years in the erotic (web and print) comics scene. His fiction and non-fiction work has been published by Slipshine, Filthy Figments, Iron Circus Comics, Fortuna Media, The Nib, Real Change, and more.
He is also one of the founders of The Cartoonist Cooperative, a labor rights organization that seeks to improve working conditions for cartoonists everywhere.
Aelektra
Amanda Danford, (American b. 1970) a Seattle-based artist, was raised both in Japan and the captivating landscapes of the Pacific Northwest yielding an artistic identity that is a blend of cultures and environments. Her formal education at Reed College laid the foundation for her unique perspective, while her artistic skills were further refined through classes at Pratt Fine Arts, Seattle Artists’ League, and Pilchuck Glass School.
Amanda’s personal life is marked by her bold decision to leave a corporate career in 2021 to fully embrace her artistic calling, and she currently shows work at Sugarwall Gallery within the Greenwood Art Collective. Her diverse artistic specialties encompass printmaking (including relief and collagraph), sumi-e style watercolors and bookbinding. Her art delves into diverse subjects, from landscapes to objects as representations of emotion and memory, and a fascination with the interplay of perspective and light. Currently, Amanda finds herself captivated by the intricate textures of water, a reflection of her ever-evolving artistic exploration, which defies easy categorization.
Angelina Elise
Angelina Elise is a self taught artist with a folksy style that is simultaneously drenched in whimsy and drama. She is drawn to the idea of lovers, murder ballads, and songs that tug the heartstrings. Sometimes her personal feelings about someone, or someplace, can make its way into her drawings, paintings, or the occasional spanky thing. Angelina explores this world through her senses and emotions which is both rewarding and disastrous. “Art helps me navigate and process this deep sea of feelings I am constantly floating, treading, or even drowning in.” Angelina also creates leather crafts available through howdyhandmade.com.
Moon Muse Studio
“My music and art are explorations into my identity as an Afro Latina, my musing of sensuality and kink, my love affair with nature, and obsession with bodies in their infinite shapes and beauty.”
Chardé Brown
Self-taught artist Charde’ Brown from Auburn, Washington creates conceptual work with acrylic paint, mixed media, and soft/oil pastels. It first started out as a means to escape social stigma, but seeing the impact it had on others, it began her journey of becoming a visual artist. She explores feelings, ideas, and past experiences via her artistic self-expression. Brown has found solace and therapeutic support in art, which has enabled her to manage her struggles with mental health.
Brown’s passion for dancing and movement is evident in her body-positive, emotion-provoking, and empowering nude artwork. Through her own personal experiences, she connects with her audience and provides an escape from social stigma. Her works illustrate her mission to raise awareness of the impact that trauma can have on a person, as well as resonate with my audience and encourage others to also begin their healing journey.
Jim Duvall
Jim Duvall (they/them) began their career as an erotic photographer in the early days of the World Wide Web taking pictures for phone sex workers. Their art has been shown at the erotic art festivals and galleries around North America. Jim helped start The Betty Pages, an LGBT magazine serving Whatcom and Skagit counties and was a writer and photographer for the magazine for 5 years. In 2013, they were inducted into the Masters of Erotic Art by the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.
As a sexuality activist, Mx. Duvall has volunteered for many organizations over the years. They are a founder and former President of the Board of Directors of the Center for Sex Positive Culture (nee Wetspot). They founded the Seattle Erotic Art Festival. They are a past President and Board member of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. Jim is currently the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Pan Eros Foundation. Currently, Jim Duvall creates fine art photography in Seattle, WA.
Black Omi Art Co.
Genea Morrow is a self-taught artist and creative entrepreneur based out of Maryland. Her interest in art began in 2012 but veered in the direction of modeling and photography; it came full circle in a figure drawing class in 2017. She then took the time to fall in love with creating shapes out of shadow work using charcoal as her medium. It wasn’t until 2021 that she started to play in paint.
Genea began a fulfilling career co-owning a children’s educational toy store, J.I.L.L.’s Toyshop, and launching Black Omi Art Co. Though her journey wasn’t always easy, she often opens up about her struggles with imposter syndrome and how she continuously works on her insecurities surrounding her late start to paint. She now creates paintings that tell her story, a story heavily influenced by her history with religion and spirituality, overshadowed by her exploration of her sensuality. Her work is centered around creating the feeling of familiarity, power, and freedom. To highlight the internal battles of feminine and masculine energies women may feel.
Nikki Jabbora – Barber
Nikki Jabbora – Barber (she/her), a gay Seattle-based printmaker and teaching artist, was born in Bellingham, WA to a Lebanese-German mother and Anglo-Swedish father. Her work focuses on her mixed race identity, centuries of storytelling, and womanhood through symbolic depictions of herself, flora, and fauna.
“Queer love is sacred. It can be such a brief moment in time, but every instance of it ends up soaking into my system and adding its own flavor to who I am as a person. My featured woodcuts are celebrations of gay eroticism, from the female gaze.”