'Fall Apart' by Cole Puetz

CURATOR'S NOTE

Fall Apart is a self-portrait made in the charged quiet of a hotel room—lamp on, curtain drawn, the body in a practiced pause. Socks on, gaze turned inward, the scene is both confession and performance: a worker’s room, a painter’s stage, and a tender record of agency.

WHY THIS WORK

Light does the storytelling giving the figure a hush you feel before a knock at the door.
The diagonal bed and cropped frame make time slow; it’s cinematic without spectacle, intimate without apology. As self-portrait, it reframes queer work and waiting with clarity, dignity, and heat.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Cole Puetz is a New York–based painter and perennial Fire Island Pines goer. A frequent collaborator and muse across art and culture, he translates private, queer domestic scenes into quiet dramas in oil. Fall Apart appeared in his debut solo exhibition at The Visitors Center in the Pines.

DETAILS

Artist: Cole Puetz
Title: Fall Apart (Self-Portrait)
Year: 2024
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 48 in.
Edition: Unique work
Signature: Signed and dated (verso)
Framing: Unframed (custom framing available)
Provenance: The Visitors Center; directly from the artist.

STATUS

Available. For framing, insured shipping, or to commission works from Cole’s studio, please inquire.