Tender Presence | Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk

Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk (he/him) is a metalsmith, jeweler, and enamelist currently living and working out of rural NJ. Nestor-Pasicznyk is a queer and trans masculine artist who’s grown up in a small rural town working with horses his whole life. The culture of both farming and agriculture heavily impacted the iconography which helped shape his practice. In a world surrounded by horses, belt buckles are unavoidable. Nestor-Pasicznyk creates much of his work in the form of belt buckles; a type of body adornment so often masculinized and tied to both rural identity and normativity. 

His larger body of work focuses on themes within folklore and the ways in which American western art can be recontextualized to fit queer, rural identities and provide them with visibility. With his work, he explores the ambiguity of gender and the preconceived notions placed on transgender bodies.

Through traditional bench working skills, metalsmithing, and enameling, he intends to show that certain norms and stereotypes can be broken to fit a different narrative, that of transgender people as both makers and artists. 

Nestor-Pasicznyk recently received his BFA at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Metalsmithing, Jewelry, and CAD CAM design in 2021.

Euphoric
Champlevé enamel on gold plated copper, spring steel
3H x 2W inches
480.

Belt buckles as an art form have deep ties to American Western imagery and iconography, which are very prevalent in the agricultural and equestrian world which I often find myself in. Fabricating belt buckles appeals to my own interests by creating these characterizations of narration in the form of body adornment so often masculinized and tied to rural identity and normativity. The creation of these pieces ties into my gender identity and expression, as a transgender man in a culture heavily dominated by cisgender men. As a queer and trans masc person who is often assumed to be cisgender, the interaction of my own body in a comfortable yet unprecedented atmosphere comes into play in my body of work. 

In this work, I utilize a variety of techniques such as champleve, enameling, and traditional bench work. The imagery I invoke is indicative of folk art and is heavily influenced by the rural American wilderness. In these pieces, I depict my own characterizations of narration and storytelling through mythology often associated with western and rural imagery by translating my illustrations into jewelry, namely belt buckle designs. My work explores how certain stereotypes can be broken to fit a different narrative that pertains to transgender people as both makers and artists. There can be more recognition and appreciation for queer and rural identities by recontextualizing these narrations into wearable jewelry for utility, enjoyment, expression, and heritage. 

The culture of both farming and agriculture in rural areas is commonly thought of as something reserved for conservative, cisgender, white, heterosexual people. Growing up in a small rural town, working with horses my whole life, and participating in Future Farmers of America and 4H, farming and agriculture grounded me. There is a comfort in working with nature and feeling a connection between yourself and the natural world. Farming is a place where queer people struggling to feel good in their bodies can feel nourished and feel right by working with the soil and the earth. By continuing to break the preconceived notions and norms that are placed upon queer and transgender bodies, as makers and rural dwellers can begin to feel connected to a part of something larger that unites us.

Self Saved
Champlevé enamel on gold plated copper, spring steel,
3H x 2W x .125D inches
480.

Self Made
Champlevé enamel on gold plated copper, spring steel
3.5H x 2W x .125D inches
480.

My Body is a Maze
Champlevé enamel on gold plated copper, spring steel
3H x 2.5W x .125D inches
480.

Euphoric
Champlevé enamel on gold plated copper, spring steel,
3H x 2W x .125D inches
480.

gallery@penland.org   |   828.765.6211   |   Open Tuesday – Saturday  11 AM – 5 PM