{"id":916,"date":"2026-04-16T12:10:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michalrutz.com\/?p=916"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:34:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:34:43","slug":"submission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michalrutz.com\/pl\/submission\/","title":{"rendered":"Submission"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How abstract can a cocksucking faggot be (green)<\/em>, 2017, oil on canvas, 20\u00d730, , private collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The series depicts close-ups of men\u2019s faces in different situations of submission\u2014sex, wrestling, and hospitalization\u2014bringing forward both their similarities and differences to reflect on power relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paintings were inspired by readings of Michel Foucault and his concept of power relations, as well as by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel\u2019s master\u2013slave dialectic. The works reflect on how systems of knowledge define what is legal, healthy, and appropriate, and determine what we\u2014or others\u2014can or should do with our bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the nineteenth century, homosexuality has been subjected to processes of rationalization within medical and juridical discourse. I juxtapose scenes from hospitals and scenes of sex. In both situations, the depicted figures are subjected to external powers and subordinated to institutional or relational control. This combination creates new associations and provokes reflection on these power relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coma<\/em>, 2016, oil on canvas, 20 \u00d7 20 cm, private collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sleeping Beauty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The painting depicts a portrait of a man in a coma following an accident. His face is enmeshed in medical equipment: a tube inserted into his mouth, cables monitoring his condition, and a collar supporting his neck. Despite his critical state, the figure sleeps peacefully, evoking fairy-tale motifs<\/strong> such as Sleeping Beauty<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series highlights the ambiguity between care and control<\/strong>: the medical apparatus simultaneously sustains life and enforces submission, rendering the body passive and completely subservient to external authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coma<\/em> (2), 2017, oil on canvas, 50\u00d750
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Wrestler<\/em>, 2016, oil on canvas, 20\u00d720, private collection
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Submission (2), 2017, oil on canvas, 20\u00d720
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Shows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n