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With Trans Pride underway tomorrow, the Association des Transexuel(le)s du Québec ATQ) and Fondation Émergence have teamed up for their Trans Egeria exhibit at Galerie Nowhere, with a vernissage tonight. Curator Frédéric Fontan was in down from Paris for the occasion to talk about the project to “demystify” transgender using the glamour of fashion and photography.

Former 2B cover photographer and queer eccentric David J Romero didn’t take his break-up last year lightly. When things ended between him and his unnamed muse, there was only one way to get over it: make a photographic altarpiece based on fictional Montréal “saints” and take over Concordia’s FOFA Gallery, tonight (Apr 29), at 7pm.

For his photo series A Chronicle of Love & Loss in Sickness & in Health, American photographer Devin Elijah delved into feelings much deeper than the juxtaposition of Polaroids and New York City would normally suggest… @ La Petite Mort Gallery, April 13-29

Sculptor Joel Prevost found the perfect setting for the opening of his show, “Variations on the Same Theme” at Gallery 240 in downtown Ottawa. Prevost’s sculpted torsos, from clay, bronze, hydrostone and resin, show the beauty and imperfections of his male and female models.

Provocative and uncompromising, Montréal photographer Evergon is one of the most sought-after art-makers in the ARTSIDA roster this year. The Concordia professor’s donation, “Tom” is a strikingly cold portrait of a porcelain cat the artist found on a trip to Italy with his late lover; it speaks to the sense of loss, but also humour, that infuses the Chez Moi series from which it is drawn. 2B spoke to the profound (and campy) wit about his family, his late lover, and being in erotic limbo in advance of the big ARTSIDA auction on April 7th…

Working in a deliciously rich figurative style, painter Daniel Barkley is a home-town boy with an eye for his fellow home-town boys. Depicting them more often than not in the nude, covered in blue paint, holding pieces of riverside refuse, or more recently, adorned in gold leaf, Barkley transforms his visceral male subjects into palpable bodies of paint, like Gold # 4 (Tanner), his gift to ACCM for ARTSIDA…

Jess MacCormack donates to ARTSIDA for the first time this year with a haunting watercolour from her recent series. Her socially engaged and critical queer work will make a heartfelt addition to the auction’s forth edition April 7th at the Musée d’art contemporain.

François Escalmel is one of the newer faces donating to ARTSIDA this year. His originality and altruism will fit right in at the auction’s forth edition April 7th at the Musé d’art contemporain. Banner image: “Bargain Hunting” by François Escalmel.

Move over Tom of Finland, because Tom de Pékin is coming to Québec this March. Based in Paris (not Beijing), this renowned visual artist got his famous pseudonym from his first collection, Rêve au cul, in which he took inspiration from Maoist propaganda to create images of sexual revolution. The prolific artist will be coming to Montréal to participate in Radical Queer Semaine’s 2012 edition.

Less than a year ago already, Michael Solovyev moved his art studio and entire family from his native Russia to the corner of Montcalm and Ontario Est, in Montreal. Born in the city of Sarov, Russia, this new addition to the Village art scene started off in architectural design, moving on to textiles, set design, and painting. In advance of his upcoming solo exhibition, 2Bmag’s Jérimi Scott sat down with the warm, affable father of two to talk about art, expatriation, and making a home in the gay Village.