Queer Art: From Canvas to Club, and the Spaces Between

The twentieth century saw key shifts for the LGBTQI+ community across the western world: from the Stonewall uprising to the first pride parades and homosexuality law reforms. The years following these milestone moments have seen queer life face new challenges, celebrations, injustices and liberations.

As ever, this journey has been closely mapped by art and culture. Artists working across all mediums – from painting, performance, digital and beyond – have captured key moments, from the HIV/AIDS crisis and the rise of drag, to marriage equality and the fight for trans liberation. The artists include:

Andrew Logan, sculptor and founder of the Alternative Miss World party
Leading artists David Hockney, Nicole Eisenmann and Zanele Muholi
Late greats Greer Lankton, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Tom of Finland
Pioneers of Queer Cinema Derek Jarman and Sir Isaac Julien
Ground-breaking photographers Nan Goldin, Ajamu X, Wolfgang Tilmans and Catherine Opie
Contemporary art stars Sin Wai Kin, Zackary Drucker and Clifford Prince King

With nearly 200 artworks selected by leading LGBTQI+ curator Gemma Rolls-Bentley, this book mixes the high-brow with the low, gallery stalwarts with Instagram stars, and the racy with the fabulous. This is a unique celebration of queer life – a must-have for the LGBTQI+ community, art lovers and anyone interested in the culture surrounding queer identity.
Contributor Bio(s)

Gemma Rolls-Bentley has been at the forefront of contemporary art for almost two decades, working passionately to amplify the work of queer artists and provide a platform for art that explores LGBTQIA+ identity. She curates exhibitions, builds art collections and leads projects internationally. Most recently she curated the group exhibition ‘Dreaming of Home’ at Leslie Lohman Museum of Art in NYC and the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival in London. She curated the ‘Brighton Beacon Collection’, the largest permanent display of queer art in the UK. Gemma is a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art and she has sat on the boards of numerous organisations and charities that support diversity in the arts.