8 LGBTQI+ Artists You Should Know

1. Robert Rauschenberg (1925 - 2008)

A collaborator of avant-garde artists John Cage and Merce Cunningham, Rauschenberg had a huge influence on everything from contemporary dance to sculpture.

Booster is one of Rauschenberg’s best-known prints. An astronomer’s chart alongside the x-ray of a skeleton combines Rauschenberg’s interest in the human form with images of the stars. Fun fact: the x-ray is of Rauschenburg’s own skeleton!

3. Robert Mapplethorpe (1946 - 1989)

In 1990, Mapplethorpe’s The Perfect Moment was the first exhibition to come under fire on the grounds of pornography and obscenity. The acquittal of Mapplethorpe and his defendants, however, reaffirmed the right to freedom of speech, changing the world for the LGBTQI+ community and beyond.

This black and white photograph of the world’s first Women's Bodybuilding Champion, Lisa Lyons, blurs gender boundaries and challenges traditional notions of masculinity. Dressed in a suit, hat and cravat, Lyons assumes the pose of a 1920s mobster. Mapplethorpe’s legacy continues to make waves today.

4. Catherine Opie (born 1961)

Catherine Opie’s photography is well-known for dealing with questions of sexual identity, queer subculture and how people relate to their communities, LGBTQI+ or otherwise.

In Self-Portrait/Nursing, Opie reimagines the image of mother and child. Tender and provocative, the portrait contrasts the innocence of her nursing son, with the pain of Opie’s early years, signified by the scars she bears on her chest.

5. Beauford Delaney (1924 - 1987)

A major figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Beauford Delaney was a prominent abstract expressionist. Whilst a major mover and shaker in the bohemian circles of the 1970s, he also suffered the societal pressures and persecutions of being both black and gay.

James Baldwin described Delaney as his ‘spiritual father’. In the painting, we can almost feel this intimate connection as Baldwin stares directly at the viewer.

6. Mickalene Thomas

Mickalene Thomas is a contemporary African-American artist best known for her complex paintings that draw from Western art history, pop art and visual culture to examine ideas of femininity, beauty, race, sexuality and gender, especially issues around African-American gay and lesbian identities.

In Sandra: She’s a Beauty Standing, Thomas offers a contemporary interpretation of classical portraiture. Thomas has commented that more often than not African-American women are portrayed in positions of servitude or through an anthropological perspective. But in this photograph Sandra offers a confident, assured glance at the camera.

Fun Fact: Thomas made the first portrait of Michelle Obama!

These artworks by LGBTQI+ artists are all balanced on this fine edge, respecting the persecution and suffering of these communities while also enjoying and celebrating the love, fun and freedom to be found within them.

From LA to Tokyo, Pride has become a joyful celebration across the globe. But for all of the fun and frivolities, Pride has never forgotten its political roots: the Pride march began with riots against police persecution of gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and questioning individuals at the Stonewall Inn in New York. Learn more about this fascinating history here.