Gideon Rubin, Orange Sofa, 2019. Oil on linen, 25.5 x 20.5 x 2cm. Courtesy: the artist and Fox Jensen Gallery, Sydney.

Eros displays a curious collection of evidence that we are and always have been surrounded by beautiful, dark, joyous, covert and occasionally unmasked eroticism. That eroticism gives force and poignancy to our existence, bliss to our temporary animation is only part of its commanding allure.

Yet the tension between public and private, between extroverted and cloistered goes to the heart of the Eros dilemma. The confusion about morality, sexual orthodoxy and pleasure is so extreme at this moment, the moral compass spinning so wildly out of kilter, that surely it is propensity for “moral judgement” that is more terrifying than the evidence of some consensual love-making.

The show presents work by Eric Fischl, Hayv Kahraman, Man Ray, Gideon Rubin, Jane Bustin, Frank Kenis, Tracey Snelling, Aiko Robinson, Hoda Afshar, and Tomislav Nikolic.

Exhibition opens: 2–5pm Saturday 25 May 2019