got a frantic text last week: “New exhibit at ICA needs to be this week’s Boston secret. Amazing, amazing powerful show by gay self-taught New York artist. I’ve got photos.” I couldn’t ignore that plea. It was from Boston Spirit magazine’s lifestyle editor, John O’Connell. So I offered him a guest spot for this week. Here goes:

Those in the know realize that gay art doesn't have be oil paintings of male nudes or clay sculptures reminiscent of Georgia O'Keefe flowers. The Institute of Contemporary Art's Friday (July 23) opening of "Charles LeDray: workworkworkworkwork" (through October 17) presents works by a gay artist in which individual identity and place in society is of infinitely more importance than the artist's sexuality.

Photographs of LeDray's work fail to capture the power of the individual pieces; without a reference point in scale they appear to be normal articles of clothing, orreries, and porcelain vessels. The actual pieces—sculptures?—are often minute replicas, entirely created by LeDray's hands, of thousands of pieces of hand-thrown pottery, vases and urns, uniforms, and stacks of chairs, tables, and doors. They are so exact in detail that the viewer is pulled through Alice's rabbit hole and the pieces suddenly become the exact size they are supposed to be.

And they pack an emotional wallop. Charles, a 19-by-14-inch men's work jacket with delicate women's garments peeking out from underneath speaks loudly. Is it about LeDray's true nature or is there a relationship between the subject and his responsibility to the world around him? Paternal relationships are explored in My Hands, My Father's Hands, World's Greatest Dad, and Untitled (Suit with a Small Cut From It).

This shows transcends being labeled “gay art.” It offers everyone perspectives they might never have considered. But LGBT visitors will identify with LeDray's commentary on and questioning of sexual identity and the individual's place in the community. Milk and Honey, Oasis, and Throwing Shadows, his collections of hand-created small vessels, become constellations or communities where no one individual is of more value than the others, but all are special. Pride Flag and Men's Suits (above) distill pride, grief, and hope, offering them up in purer, more intense forms.

It’s doubtful that the ICA is purposefully trying to infuse the Boston art scene with queer art. But with its presentation of "Roni Horn, a.k.a. Roni Horn" last year, LeDray’s work this season, and Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford’s show opening in the fall, it's giving a stage to exceptional works by gay artists.

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John O’Connell is lifestyle editor at Boston Spirit magazine. His blog is not updated nearly as often as he has opinions to express.