Under My Skin: Beautiful New Body-Focused Art [NSFW]

Photographer Mona Kuhn, who’s explored the human body as the subject of her work and research for more than ten years, is taking her turn wearing what she calls “the curator hat” for an exhibition at Flowers Gallery called “Under My Skin — The Nude in Contemporary Photography” opening on June 20. After spending six months culling works from 25 contemporary photographers (including one from herself), Kuhn hopes to start a brainy dialogue about the body that goes beyond the surface level of the skin.

“The body [is] who we are and something that unifies all of us — it’s a little bit of the essence that we can’t get away from,” she told the Cut about conceiving the show. “It’s not so much a show-and-tell of the naked people, but more about the philosophical approach. If we were living in a cave today, how are we sketching ourselves? How are we leaving a mark on future generations?” Her response was to curate works mostly from the last five years that didn’t just deal with nudity for the sake of nudity, but artistically cloaked the human form in metaphors. “People say the body’s so misused these days, and I see that happening, but when the artist uses the medium of the body, it’s almost like you can’t disrobe it.” Click through the slideshow for a first look at the exhibit and to see what she means.