Anastaci Pacella
Anastaci Pacella is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses three distinct bodies of work: 1. commercial mural work; 2. drawings, paintings, and installations that explore domesticity, sexuality, and discomfort; and 3. custom boudoir drawings and painting with a specialty in male nudes. Pacella incorporates her bright color palette and distinct mark-making into each series and ties them together thematically with a desire to create a softer, more loving world.
Pacella earned a BFA in Art Education from UMass Dartmouth in 2012 and her MFA in Visual Arts at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Pacella has exhibited throughout New England in a variety of group exhibitions and has enjoyed the support of numerous artists, including Faith Wilding, who have helped her foster connections between her art, feminist values, and community activism. Pacella is also a Co-Founder and curator of The Cordial Eye Gallery and Artist Space in Hyannis, MA, where she uses her platform to hold space for emerging artists questioning social norms and investigating forms of institutional critique.
Mural Work
Painting the Future Bright at West Villages
Karibbean Lounge
Stewards of Our Sacred Land
It’s not that I’m obsessed with penises, I’m fascinated by people’s reactions to them. We are fairly comfortable with seeing naked female bodies, female body parts, but it is still so uncommon to see naked male bodies and parts that it almost always elicits a strong reaction from people.
The impetus for this series is quite simple: I love dicks.
There are other reasons too; as I was engrossed in a figure drawing (penis drawing), I was looking at this wrinkly, floppy thing and wondered, “How did this shriveled little organ become such a strong symbol of power?” I wanted to take away its power and violence and return it to a site of pleasure. Reacting against the tendency of some feminist artists such as Judith Berenstein, to use the penis as a symbol for violence, these paintings are more in line with the “Male Landscapes” of Edith Golden. They explore the penis as a site for sensuality through the female gaze.
I am open to commissioned work of this nature for folks who are 18+. I’ve found that most people seeking commissions are respectful and simply looking for moments of body acceptance, self-love, or want to share a gift with their partner.
