Rhett Corvette (III) by Max Markwald

About the Artist: Max Markwald (He/Him/His) uses large-format oil paintings to highlight queer voices and document his gender transition. Since graduating from the University of Akron, Myers School of Art, in the Fall of 2016, he has had fifteen solo shows in the Northeast Ohio region, including exhibitions at Bay Arts, Akron Soul Train, and Massillon Museum. During an artist talk for his 2021 solo exhibition at the McDonough Museum of Art, Markwald reflected upon why he avoided the label Queer Artist for so long, saying, "Maybe it's because queer still has that bitter taste of a word I was taught not to say." Markwald now speaks openly about his struggles as a transgender man, such as being denied healthcare, denied health insurance, harassed in public, and threatened his job. In his statement, Markwald embraces his identity by saying: "I take on the label, queer artist, not as a stopping point, but rather, as a way of looking at a system that does not recognize my existence and saying: You don't get to tell me what that word means anymore."

About the Artwork: Rhett Corvette is a neon new wave gender clown! He belongs to the Cleveland Kings Action Pack (CKAP), a charity drag organization with the mission to raise money for just and radical causes by impersonating men and seducing you out of your singles. Over the past few years his CKAP performances have raised money for charities such as: CLASH(Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing), an organization working to combat the alarming number of lead poisonings in children; and, Colors+ Youth Center, which provides programming, counseling, and safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth. His performances have included a movie scene re-enactment of Fight Club; duets with his cisqueen alterego Loretta Corvetta; and dance to the 79’ post-punk classic “Cars” by Gary Numan, where he drove a tiny blue motorized corvette around stage! For drag story time events, Rhett will often apears as Mx.Frizzle, the non-binary magic school bus teacher. Soon he will be launching Rhett’s Reading Room, a youtube series that promotes family-friendly queer voices.