At the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, as the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people continue to be threatened worldwide, the visibility of queer folks — bodies, faces — has never been more critical. It’s with this notion that HERE, a New York organization dedicated to presenting cutting edge artworks in a variety of media, staged its Queer As I exhibition.
On view through June 30, Queer As I is comprised of 50 self-portraits by different artists both established, like photographers Catherine Opie and Jack Pierson, and emerging. From crystal-clear photography to abstracted compositions — the portraiture, an image for each year since the Stonewall Riots, reflects a gloriously diverse range of creativity. “We’re not going back in the closet,” says resident curator Dan Halm. “It was a real honor to get people like Catherine Opie and Justin Vivian Bond to commit to this show right off the bat. It’s a really nice statement when people who have had careers for a really long time are willing to do an exhibition with somebody who is just graduating from Columbia.”
Queer as I, you, and all of us: Scroll on to peruse a selection of the artists’ self-portraits, highlighting the breadth and beauty of the queer community.