Thurman's drawings in charcoal, graphite, oil pastel, or pastel often appear incomplete, with portions of the figures or backgrounds left uncoloured, pointing to the fleeting nature of the moments they capture.
Read MoreKyle Thurman's 'Suggested Occupation' series of works, begun in 2015, consists of drawings featuring tender, intimate, or dynamic representations of soldiers and athletes.
Young athletic men are the main subjects of these works, which often portrays them as vulnerable and gentle, in contrast to the machismo conventionally associated with masculinity and, in particular, men in the military or sports.
In Suggested Occupation 13 (2016–2018), for example, a young man dressed in a bulletproof vest is sound asleep while seated, with his hands on his lap. The overall pink tone of the drawing, permeating the man's white shirt and parts of his face, accentuates the softness and tenderness of his respite.
The charcoal and pastel drawing Suggested Occupation 23 (2018) depicts another intimate scene, in which a young man is entangled within the arms of another. Their short haircuts may evoke their occupation in the military, yet the sternness associated with soldiers as reproduced by the media is nowhere to be seen.
In his solo exhibition A Lonely Butcher at New York's Off Vendome in 2016, Thurman presented his drawings of young men alongside yarn and sculptural works.
Based on images sourced from news articles, many of the drawings in the show reflect the artist's interests in the human capacity to empathise with strangers they encounter through the media. The exhibition included images of young men sleeping by themselves or in small groups, concentrating on something off the canvas, or engaging in other ordinary and intimate activities.
