Work by Hernan Bas, Basso, Nayland Blake, Ain Cocke, Simon English, Peter Gallo, David Gilbert, Timothy Hull, William E. Jones, Lars Laumann, Paul Lee, David Benjamin Sherry, Shane Ruth, and Jo-ey Tang

"His eyes bulging the dying man staggered, his hand moving in a most delicate gesture, letting go, abandoning himself in an almost voluptuous posture that recalled, even in this land of fog, the dulcet clime of the bedchamber..."

Goff + Rosenthal Gallery is pleased to present "The Dulcet Clime of the Bedchamber", a group show curated by Nicholas Weist that includes painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, film, and a site-specific installation by an international group of artists.

"The Dulcet Clime of the Bedchamber" takes its title from "Querelle", a novel first published in 1953 by the aggressively gay author and cultural outsider Jean Genet. The passage from which it is drawn concerns the murder of a sailor, and describes the manner of his death in terms of union, and the softness of release. This dolorous but tender moment is a springboard for the show, which includes work that responds to an inherent melancholia within the field desire: for instance because of the inevitability of separation through death.

Similar to the extreme and immersive fantasies made manifest in Genet's fiction, artists included in "The Dulcet Clime of the Bedchamber" externalize private worlds in works that navigate personal experiences of desire. These intimate and highly charged pieces exist in a liminal space between appetite and agency - acknowledging that desire exists, but firmly rooted in a bog of inaction. In some cases artists generalize the idea of desire, as in Paul Lee's torn blanket sculpture, a quiet monument to past romances. Or alternatively desire is particularized, and focused obsessively on impossible loves - as in Timothy Hull's sculptural Frank O'Hara totem, made of objects and fetishes related to the poet's life and work. Peter Gallo's text sculpture, the word "electrocardiogram" misspelled and made from chicken bones, dental floss, and other material connected to the body, is partly a working-through and partly a protective (though, one would imagine, ineffective) voodoo magic.

These delicate gestures exist where fantasy and reality converge and become undifferentiated, obliquely locating objects of desire, but never approaching them directly.

Hernan Bas (b. 1978) is a Miami-based young artist whose elegant, fantastical work has been shown widely and internationally, at such venues as the Saatchi Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, and Daniel Reich Gallery. His work is held by The Museum of Modern Art, SF MoMA, and others.

Basso is a Berlin-based art collective who publish an eponymous magazine available worldwide and maintain a space to show their and others' artwork.

Nayland Blake (b. 1960) is an internationally recognized conceptual artist who discursively interrogates the complexities of identity. His work is included in major collections worldwide, and he has held solo shows at venues including Matthew Marks Gallery, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, and FRED, London.

Ain Cocke is a Brooklyn-based artist whose recent exacting, detailed drawings and paintings mine personal, familial histories and the visual history of World War II.

Simon English (b. 1959) is a British artist who lives in London. His diaristic drawings and paintings have been shown recently in solo shows at Galerie du Jour, Agnes B., Paris; FRED London; and Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich. English is represented in the U.S. by Goff + Rosenthal Gallery.

Peter Gallo (b. 1959) lives and works in Hyde Park, VT. Gallo's sculptures and paintings often connect with his experiences with the mentally disabled.

David Gilbert (b. 1982) is a young, Brooklyn-based artist who has shown his delicate sculptures, photographs, and installations at such venues as White Box, Art Metropole, and D'Amelio Terras. His work, which is often monochromatic, poses questions about the meaning of color and the personal ramifications of structural forms and visual iconographies.

Timothy Hull (b. 1979) is a young artist based in Brooklyn. Hull's work, which examines lost cultures and idealized figures from culture in obsessive detail, has been shown internationally.

William E. Jones (b 1962) was recently featured in the 2008 Whitney Biennial. His work, much of which directly references his job in the adult entertainment industry, explores how sexuality and personality are represented through mediated images.

Lars Laumann (b. 1977) is a Norwegian artist who was recently featured in the Berlin Biennial, and has had solo shows at White Columns, Vox Populi, and Ofoten Museum, among other venues. His seemingly coolly objective work is frequently invested in the mysterious and relative.

Paul Lee (b. 1974), a British artist who lives in New York, has recently held solo shows at Peres Projects and the Chinati Foundation. His mostly sculptural work explores nostalgia and, frequently, how it relates to cultural detritus.

David Benjamin Sherry (b. 1981) a recent graduate of Yale University's MFA program, has shown his work at Lisa Ruyter Gallery, Andrew Kreps Gallery, Team Gallery, and Mitchell-Innes + Nash. His photography interrogates the structure of the medium but is heavily influenced by the mystical.

Shane Ruth (b. 1971) has held solo exhibitions at Sunday Gallery and Freight + Volume Gallery. Ruth's highly stylized work explores tropes of fetishism and obsessive attention to particular eras and lifestyles.

Jo-ey Tang (b. 1978) is a New York–based artist originally from Hong Kong. His work has been shown widely in New York and San Francisco, as well as in Bonn and Berlin, Germany. Tang's highly formal photographs and sculptures reveal intimate details about his intellectual and emotional life.