The Artwork of Louis Fratino
Born in 1993, near Annapolis, Maryland, Louis Fratino received his BFA in Painting. with an emphasis on illustration, from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2015. He is a recipient of a 
Yale Norfolk Painting Fellowship in 2014 and a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Painting, studying in Berlin from 2015 to 2016. When he returned to the United States, Fratino settled in New York City, working part-time as an art handler and selling tickets at the Guggenheim.
Living and working in Brooklyn, New York, Fratino’s first gallery show was at Manhattan’s Siklema Jenkins & Co in 2019 and his first institutional solo exhibition was at the Des Moines Art Center in November of 2021. He has exhibited in group shows at the Yossi Milo and the D.C. Moore galleries and in solo shows at Thierry Goldberg, Antoine 
Levi, and Monya Rowe. Fratino has also done residency studies at Pioneer Works, the Artha Project, and the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program.
Known primarily for his graphic but tender representations of queer intimacy, Fratino draws upon his own intimate experiences, memories, and fantasies to portray the everyday lives of gay men in New York City, often using historical art references in his work. His paintings often embody the visual style of early 20th century modernists like Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse.
Top Insert Image: Martin Zad, “Louis Fratino”, 2020, Color Print, Whitewall Magazine January 2022
Bottom Insert Image: Louis Fratino, “Anemones and Shells”, 2021, Etching with Aquatint and Drypoint on Hahnemuble White Paper, Edition of 25, Image Size 60 x 45.1 cm