Biography

He is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in photography and painting. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, his practice is rooted in personal experience and explores themes of LGBTQ identity, social commentary, isolation, and intimacy. Drawing from his experiences growing up in the Midwest, he creates images that examine the emotional weight of everyday life and the ways individuals navigate connection, vulnerability, and self-discovery.

Working across documentary photography, portraiture, landscape, and moving image, Frankowski is interested in moments that often go unnoticed; intimate moments, familiar spaces, and fleeting encounters that reveal deeper emotional truths. His work balances observation with introspection, using atmosphere, light, and narrative to transform ordinary experiences into reflections on longing and belonging.

Frankowski approaches image-making as a way of understanding both himself and the world around him. Through an intimate visual language, creates work that invites viewers to recognize aspects of their own experiences within the stories he tells. 

Artist Statement

My work is deeply rooted in my own personal experience, examining themes of physical intimacy, loneliness, memory, and the search for connection in my life. Through portraits, documentary images, and observations of the world, I create images that reflect the tension between vulnerability and resilience.

I am drawn to the uncomfortable and quieter moments that reveal something larger about how we relate to ourselves and to others and feel a compulsion to express that in any way. Growing up in the Midwest and in a household with addiction, my understanding of identity has changed and has been shaped by experiences of isolation, belonging, and the complexities of being a young gay man. Photography gives me the voice to investigate these experiences while offering space for reflection and empathy.

Rather than offering definitive narratives, my work invites viewers to bring their own memories and emotions into my work. I am specifically fascinated in photography's ability to transform ephemeral moments into something beautiful and eternal…