Pacifico Silano – Assume the Position

MONTI8 is thrilled to announce ‘Assume the Position‘, third solo exhibition of Pacifico Silano with the gallery.
The show presents a selection of nine works specifically made on this occasion: seven torsos and two small close-up subjects. The show will open on September 20 and will run through October 23.
‘Born in 1986 in Brooklyn to a Catholic family of Italian descent, Silano studied photography in New York, where he shaped his artistic education around mourning the loss of his uncle, who died from complications related to HIV. His work weaves together the urgency of rescuing memories and the transformations of LGBTQ+ culture from oblivion with a desire to interrogate the impact that the non-normative political body has had on shaping the queer imaginary.
Artworks, busts, and visual fragments drawn from archetypes such as the cowboy, the soldier, the sailor, and other overtly masculine figures serve as coordinates for a poetic corporeography. This body of work is inspired by vintage gay erotic magazines that circulated after the Stonewall riots (1969) and throughout the years marked by the losses of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
The itinerary conceived for Galleria Monti 8 unfolds through a series of frames created using the technique of indirect photography—a method the artist embraces for its ability to suspend perception and challenge the notion of a ‘pure’ representation of the subject.
It’s a choice made with rigor and intention—one that further distills the visual vocabulary and transforms the act of seeing into a bridge between “then” and “now.” In this liminal space, Silano explores alternative articulations of desire, which, according to Lacan, is always Désir de l’Autre—desire for the Other. This means it doesn’t stem from a biological need, like hunger or thirst, nor is it governed by one. True desire is shaped through dynamic relations with the Other, in response to what eludes us, provokes us, interrogates us. In essence, it resides in everything that passes through us without ever fully belonging to us. ‘ (Roberto D’Onorio).

Works:
Urban Cowboy, 2025 16 x 20 inch Dye Sublimation Print on aluminum in artist frame Edition ⅓ + 1 AP
Urban Cowboy, 2025 16 x 20 inch Dye Sublimation Print on aluminum in artist frame Edition ⅓ + 1 AP