Opening Reception: Thursday, Feb 13, 6 – 9pm

Exhibition on view: Feb 14 – 21, 2025

On view gallery hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12 – 5pm, and by appointment by contacting [email protected]

Roski Graduate Gallery (Los Angeles Arts District) 1262 Palmetto St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

More information here: https://roski.usc.edu/richard-ffrench/

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Richard Ffrench looks into the rituals that construct and maintain the idealized image of masculinity with this body of work. Set in Los Angeles, his photographs express a queer male gaze that both admires and examines the nuances of male beauty and young adulthood. Raised in conservative Jamaica, Ffrench learned to find desire in the restrained, everyday performances of masculinity, a dynamic that continues to shape his art.

He primarily collaborates with strangers across the city who he finds compelling and attractive. Through a voyeuristic yet caring lens, he meticulously stages moments in private and shared spaces—workouts, grooming rituals, and fleeting displays of intimacy among men of his generation—that reveal the tension between hegemonic expectations and the tender realities of male relationships. This work is an act of admiration, not criticism: a celebration of beauty that seeks to reconcile internalized homophobia with a love for the male form.

Ffrench’s photographs balance a quiet restraint with charged, homoerotic undertones, questioning how the male image is constructed and why these performances persist. They invite viewers to consider what it means for a young, queer, Black man to look at men. In every frame, there is an invitation to see the men of his generation as vulnerable and beautiful—just as they are.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Richard Ffrench is a Jamaican photographer based in Los Angeles. His work explores identity, intimacy and desire through the lens of his queer, Black perspective. He draws from his filmmaking background to refine his approach to photography, emphasizing his appreciation for formal beauty while exploring the honesty and vulnerability in his work’s conceptual nature. Richard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Film from Lafayette College and is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Art at the University of Southern California.