Sensitive Skin features art, writing and music without rules or boundaries by both famous and emerging artists, writers, and musicians from around the globe.
Sensitive Skin began as a print venture from New York’s Lower East Side in the 1990s. Originally titled Peau Sensible, the first issue had writing by B. Kold, Norman Douglas, Steve Cannon, John Farris and Darius James, with art by Gail Schilke and Tom McGlynn. The original team was Kold, Douglas, Farris and Patricia Winter. We did many readings and performances at the Living Theater, the Fez, XOXO, Thread Waxing Space and other downtown clubs.
We did four issues of Peau Sensible, each published about 3 months apart, when we changed the name to Sensitive Skin, Douglas, Farris and Winter left and Rob Hardin and Christian X. Hunter joined. You can tell we were deeply confused because the first issue of Sensitive Skin was numbered “five”, while the second issue as “two”. During that original run, we published such literary luminaries as Richard Hell, Jack Micheline, Penny Arcade, Eileen Myles, Lynne Tillman, Patrick McGrath, Bob Holman, Maggie Estep, Emily XYZ, Herbert Huncke and Joel Rose, with art by Andres Serrano, Ari Marcopolis, Andrew Castrucci and James Romberger, to name but a few. You can check out those original print issues from the ’90s here.
Sensitive Skin was reborn in the summer of 2010, and has since presented original work by such esteemed writers, artists and musicians as Samuel R. Delaney, John Lurie, Gary Indiana, Sharon Mesmer, Charles Gatewood, Gretchen Faust, Alex Katz, Peter Blauner, Hal Sirowitz, Arthur Nersesian, Maggie Estep, Fred Frith, Evelyn Bencicova, Thurston Moore, Iggy Pop, Winston Smith, Sue Rynski, Steve Dalachinsky, Marty Thau, Justine Frischmann, Craig Clevenger, Darius James, Stewart Home, Michael A. Gonzales, Drew Hubner, Jonathan Shaw, Melissa Febos, Stephen Lack, Max Blagg, Patricia Eakins, Díre McCain, Rob Roberge, Kurt Wolf, Erika Schickel, John S. Hall, Kevin Rafferty, Elliott Sharp, Mike Hudson, James Greer, Ruby Ray, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
Back issues are available in print and PDF format.