Following Eugène: A Spring Outing by Stuart Mayes, Exhibition review

On Sunday, August 30th, I took the SL pendeltåg from Stockholm to Uppsala at noon.

 I bought a bottle of Coke from a vending machine, sat on a blue bench, and enjoyed it quietly. The day was bright and pleasantly warm. Uppsala Konstmuseum is a 20-minute walk from the UL Center and is located inside Uppsala Castle.

Stuart's exhibit is on the first floor and invites you right in, featuring sheer fabrics, blue blackboards, mind maps with research written in white chalk, wooden pathways, door patterns made of sheets, and sunlight streaming through the big windows. The exhibit, titled Following Eugène: A Spring Outing, explores local LGBTQI+ history, focusing on Eugène Jansson, best known for his 1907 painting, The Navy Bathhouse. He was a fantastic painter from a low socio-economic background, raised by art- and music-loving parents. He earned the nickname the Blue Painter, and he is now known as Sweden’s first gay artist. This was due to his shift in focus from urban landscapes and still life almost exclusively to male nudes, emphasizing vitality. His works often depicted men at the pool or working out in his studio. Many of his close friends and models were likely gay men living their best lives, all while trying to avoid arrest (the penalty for being caught in a homosexual act could be as much as ten months of forced labor).

Coming out into the light as a gay man—something that was too dangerous to do officially—was nevertheless a bold step, especially for someone in the public eye.

In 1907, the artist Eugène Jansson exhibited his figure paintings of nude male bodies at a Spring Exhibition organized by Verdandi in Uppsala. This exhibition attracted national attention. In theory, male nudes are nothing new within the realm of art.

They have long been a popular subject, celebrated as the epitome of beauty since ancient Greece and throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods, which featured many themes related to homosexuality. Many old masters were gay, yet it was legally prohibited and socially unacceptable; sodomy was a capital crime often punishable by death under the church authority. In 1918 (after the death of Jansson in 1915), Jansson's shift to figure paintings received criticism, with reviewer Nils G. Wollin labelling his figures as lifeless and claiming he was lacking passion. However, it's evident that Jansson painted these men without concealing his desire, allowing us to perceive that longing as well. In 1907, being openly gay in Sweden was unacceptable, not legalized until 1944. Ignoring Jansson's gay identity limited the critics' understanding of his work. Now, as we approach 2027—120 years later—being gay still sometimes needs to be concealed. Unfortunately, individuals can still face shame for their sexual orientation in this country despite the Nordics' progressiveness.

Nude Young Man

One of his notable pieces, Naken yngling (Nude Young Man), 1907, is actually a portrait of his boyfriend*, Knut Nyman. Unlike his other nudes, which typically emphasized the body or physical activities like swimming, weightlifting, or gymnastics, this piece shows Nyman simply relaxing in a domestic setting. Whereas in most other paintings the face is often turned or half seen, the face takes focus, yet the title is concealing, because the piece feels like a portrait of a loved one. It is no surprise he was inspired to paint him; 

Nyman is adorable and, by today's beauty standards, too, as he resembles Timothée Chalamet. He is shown lounging and resting his arms on the threshold of a well-appointed room that features a chandelier and one of the artist's blue landscape paintings in the background. Jansson, who grew up in poverty, is giving us a glimpse of his new access to a world of wealth. This is an intimate moment. Jansson, who is not religious, perceives Knut’s identity as a carpenter and his exceptional beauty in a particular way. The pose, which resembles Jesus on the cross, raises a poignant question for Christian conservatives:  

Why on earth would you crucify this guy for being gay?

 In Jansson's work, nudity is consistently associated with various forms of physical activity. Therefore, it is reasonable to interpret this piece as depicting his naked boyfriend in an apartment, likely after they have just had sex. Furthermore, the old blue landscape painting in the background suggests that the blue landscapes he was celebrated for are behind him; he was now painting for himself.

Blue

Stuart Mayes incorporates blue prominently in his artwork, a practice he has maintained since his time at Slade. He has been following Jansson's work since 2015 and, in 2019, created a tribute piece titled "Eugènes Ringar." This work honors the gymnastic rings traditionally used only by male gymnasts because of their extreme upper-body strength requirements, and are therefore associated with masculinity and often featured in Jansson's paintings. Mayes covered these rings in his signature blue glitter—symbolic of queer spaces and LGBTQI identity. This gesture parallels his installation from 2015, where he laid out a glittery blue red carpet in the old naval academy bathhouse locker rooms during a brief period when it was open to the public, titled "An Afternoon's Invitation (Following Eugène #1)."Time-restricted installation with a unique glitter blend.

Doorframes, Flags, Textiles, Chalkboards, and Placards

Stuart Mayes interprets Naken yngling as a significant moment of coming out, deconstructs it, and transforms it through his own contemporary aesthetics, conceptual vision, signature materials, and visual language. The threshold becomes doorframes, the unseen door transforms into flags, Knut's image floats onto textiles, the blue shifts to blue chalkboards, and the painted objects become placards, hinting that the painting is a form of activism. Mayes often picks second-hand materials for their authenticity, existential connection, and the memories they may hold. He incorporates vintage sequins, used sheets, and even thrift shop paintings, which carry the essence of their past—whether deadstock sequins made in Europe waiting for decades for their debut, retired sheets from two long-gone lovers, or the proud owners of a cherished art piece in the living room. 

The doorframes are a collaboration with Bryan Little, a carpenter, a profession Knut Nyman took up after being a sailor. The use of silk is an ode to the dandy gay identity Jansson displays fully in a 1910 self-portrait. One may think the chalk was a reference to Jansson's dry brushstrokes, but it turns out to be a more intimate detail connected to Mayes' father, who was a teacher. The mind maps indicate that this research on Eugène is ongoing, and that there is more to come.

I met Stuart at the downstairs café, where Tal R's ultramarine blue woodcut prints, made from the wood of old Scandinavian butchers' blocks, adorn the walls. 

Stuart had a cup of tea, which he brewed with loose tea leaves, and I had a cappuccino with oat milk served in a glass cup with a little mint chocolate wrapped in golden foil. 

Outside, it was raining, and since the museum was closing, we had to leave the castle. 

As I looked out at the old cannons facing the cliff, I checked and learned that Uppsala Castle's cannons were originally aimed directly at Uppsala Cathedral by King Gustav Vasa to assert royal dominance over the church during the Swedish Reformation.