Details:
① Artwork:
Visual Feedback
In this painting, the artist draws on the myth of Narcissus to reflect on conceptions of self-image and sensation. The title of this work refers to Mirror Visual Feedback, a type of treatment invented by Dr. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, which addresses Phantom Limb Pain, a common condition for post-amputation patients. In this process, a patient uses a mirror to visually duplicate their intact limb, simulating the appearance of two as they perform symmetric movements. Through this method, the patient regains some control over the sensations and movements of their missing limb. Borgo links this process to Narcissus’s fulfillment found through his image—another parallel the artist constructs between mythology, personal narrative, and contemporary ideas surrounding the self-images of trans and disabled individuals.
Linus Borgo’s work deals with themes surrounding spiritual elevation, identity, and reclamation of the body. Much of Borgo’s work is grounded in a life-altering accident he experienced at the age of 18, having just begun his BFA at Rhode Island School of Design: After climbing to the top of a building with his friend, he made contact with electrical generator equipment and was shocked with 11,000 volts, leading to 11 surgeries, including the amputation of his left hand. Grappling with the new physical and metaphysical limits of his body—a journey that echoes his experience as a transgender man—the artist makes work exploring the anatomy of the human body through lavish and vibrant compositions that recall the techniques and themes of the Renaissance masters.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Linus Borgo’s work deals with themes surrounding spiritual elevation, identity, and reclamation of the body. Immersive in their scale and content, his paintings oscillate between sublime depictions of the aftermath of trauma and quotidian moments of daily life in the city. Much of Borgo’s work is grounded in a life-altering accident he experienced at the age of 18, having just begun his BFA at Rhode Island School of Design: After climbing to the top of a building with his friend, he made contact with electrical generator equipment and was shocked with 11,000 volts, leading to 11 surgeries, including the amputation of his left hand. Grappling with the new physical and metaphysical limits of his body—a journey that echoes his experience as a transgender man—he often makes work exploring the anatomy of the human body with near scientific accuracy. The artist’s lavish compositions are marked by their elegant arrangement of bodies, vibrant color palette, and incorporation of spiritual themes. Borgo, who is of Italian descent, connects this interest to his childhood summers in Italy, where he frequented museums and absorbed the techniques and themes of the Renaissance masters, adapting them to his contemporary world.
Linus Borgo was born in 1995 in Stamford, CT, and lives in New York, NY. He received his MFA from Columbia University in New York, NY (2022) and his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI (2018).
Borgo has mounted solo exhibitions at Yossi Milo in New York, NY (2023), and Steve Turner in Los Angeles, CA (2022).
He has participated in recent group exhibitions at the Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, TX (2023, 2022); the Lenfest Center for the Arts at Columbia University in New York, NY (2022); Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery in Georgetown, KY (2021); Zurcher Gallery in New York, NY (2020); and others.
Borgo’s work resides in the permanent collections of the Akron Art Museum in Akron, OH, and the Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, TX.
