Rain (Self-Portrait)

From the artist: Eric Rhein’s work—in a variety of media—chronicles his life experience and travels, both geographic & mystic, his childhood in Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains and New York’s Hudson Valley, and his three decades living with HIV.

Arriving in New York City in 1980, 18-year-old Rhein became a part of the vital East Village arts scene, a unique community which permanently altered the city’s cultural and creative landscape—and which was in-turn was deeply altered by the AIDS crisis.

Rhein’s first New York works, butterfly puppets constructed for George Balanchine, sparked an interest in the use of linear elements—a formal theme that recurs in his work.

After his HIV diagnosis in 1987, Rhein began exploring themes of vulnerability, resilience and transcendence. In 1996, the year protease inhibitors restored Rhein’s physical vitality, he began his ongoing series, Leaves, which honors the lives of over 380 men and women he knew who died of complications from AIDS. Leaves continues to evolve and be shown internationally. His work also embraces photography, including self-portraits and images of friends and lovers from the period spanning his HIV diagnosis, near death, and eventual renewed life. As a personal response to the AIDS crisis, Rhein’s artwork highlights compassion and care as powerful life-saving instincts.

Rhein’s considered and intuitive use of repurposed objects is a hallmark of his art, employing materials as varied as wire, pages from vintage scientific journals, hardware, jewelry, crystals and other found objects. Gathered from locations as varied as Japan, Thailand, France, and the streets of New York, he handles these salvaged materials with empathetic reverence. For Rhein, the act of giving cast-offs a new life mirrors the artist’s own spiritual path, as well as his evolving relationship with HIV.

Rhein received his BFA and MFA from the School of Visual Arts. International exhibitions include the Victoria and Albert Museum; Pera Museum, Istanbul; 21er Haus Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna; American Embassies in Austria, Cameroon, Greece, and Malta; the Addison Gallery of American Art; the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art; Lincoln Center, The Bronx Museum of the Arts; and the Smithsonian. Reviews of Rhein’s work have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Art News, and Art in America. Grants and fellowships include the Pollock/Krasner Foundation, Art Matters, and the MacDowell Colony. Eric is included in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art's “Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project.” in which participants are interviewed in-depth, creating a comprehensive review of their life and work.