Bennjamin Fenoglio
Lingering Thoughts, 2026
Oil on canvas
48 x 60 inches
Artist Statement:
Flat, simple shapes construct the environment anchored to meaning only by the detail of the two figures. On the right is a rendition of my lover, dressed to match Achilles in “the anger of Achilles” by Jacques-Louis David. Iphigenia is to left, more content than in David’s work, but betrayed nonetheless.
When transitioning from a “woman” into a man many women see us transgender men as lost sheep, fallen so deeply into misogyny that we think the only way to escape it is to stow away as “false” men. They attribute our history to “women doing what they must” and our present to an unsightly fad.
My lover turns his back to her, but also the viewer. He instead faces the shadow of a sun to the upper right, his eyes linger on Iphigenia and the moon, but he continues onward. Trusting the glimmer of something inside yourself to lead to your future is a tenet of what it means to be transgender.
