Louis Fratino: Alive and About Life
2026
Louis Fratino was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner for the Louisiana Channel at his studio in Brooklyn. They met in June 2026, ahead of the opening of Prose, his debut exhibition with the gallery at David Zwirner London.
Louis Fratino depicts intimate personal experiences and domestic affairs in his works, frequently centering contemporary queer life and the male body. In portraying all manner of subjects drawn from observation and his immediate circle, he pairs an exuberant palette of bold, high-contrast colors with expressive figuration that reflects his considered study of art history and literature.
“It is important for me to maintain a kind of vulnerability. I mean, it’s kind of a loaded word, vulnerability, but I think that it’s important to make an artwork. It’s so important for me to feel not embarrassed by anything. Like, how could you embarrass yourself in a kind of mental dialogue that you’re having with yourself? In that way, my studio is a kind of sacred space.”
