Lou Grande

Lou Grande stopped by the studio to share his art, experience growing up in the church, and life as a trans-masculine man living in southern Kansas. Lou specializes in acrylics but also is dabbling with stained glass! You can see more of Lou's work and submit for commision pieces on his website at the link below. From the artist: Lou Grande is a contemporary trans-masculine painter based in Wichita, Kansas, whose work bridges queer history, pop art, and traditional iconography. Operating as both a cultural archivist and a visual storyteller, Grande builds monumental altars out of modern artifacts, aggressively integrating visibly queer bodies back into the Western art canon. With academic degrees in English and theology—and entirely self-taught in the visual arts—Grande brings a deeply narrative and analytical approach to the canvas. After transitioning at the age of 30, he dedicated his professional life to international immigration and refugee resettlement. This humanitarian background profoundly informs his socially engaged art practice today. Now pursuing art full-time, his work examines the resilience, joy, and “scandalous” beauty of the altered body. Drawing inspiration from 1970s pop art, low-res digital imagery, and sacred archetypes, Grande’s hyper-pop portraiture utilizes heavy acrylics, gold leaf, and found materials. His vibrant canvases serve as a visceral defense of marginalized existence, asserting that gender diversity and queer survival are inherently worthy of reverence. Lou's Website Click here Lou's Instagram Click here