Queer Art (Art Essentials) (Art Essentials)

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A concise, accessible and global overview of modern and contemporary queer art, co-written by notable curators in the field

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Queer Art is a commanding compendium of LGBTQIA+ art that highlights its ongoing resilience from the 19th century to the present day. Spanning generations and geographies, Queer Art’s carefully curated selection of practitioners paints a rich picture of LGBTQIA+ visual culture, underscoring the complexity of lived experience and cutting through the basic understanding of the subject that seeks to measure ‘queerness’ against overt homoeroticism and proven homosexuality.

Queer art curators Mollie E. Barnes and Gemma Rolls-Bentley begin by exploring how resilience has shaped artistic expression, establishing the historical backdrop against which queer art has evolved. From liberation to intersectionality, reclamation to futurism, four thematic chapters unpack the key concerns of queer art as they relate to the work of artists such as Keith Haring, Bhupen Khakhar, Hélio Oiticica, Catherine Opie, Lotte Laserstein and Xiyadie. By exploring the notion of ‘queer art’ through the lens of both historical figures and contemporary practitioners, Queer Art adopts a dual focus, traversing the past and present to reflect on covert histories whilst imagining radical futures in which art not only reflects but shapes social norms.
Extent: 176 pp
Format: Paperback
Illustrations: 87
Publication date: 2026-04-23
Size: 21.6 x 13.8 cm
ISBN: 9780500298688
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Press Reviews

This book refreshed my perspective ... I was galvanised and reassured. Guided, taught and counselled. We make cool stuff. We always have. I’m full of thanks for it
Kae Tempest

The most beautiful way to know ourselves better is to pick up and flick through the pages of this insightful collection of superb queer artists
Russell Tovey

An urgently necessary collection that shines brightly in this moment … shows us the art and the artists responsible for ushering in the world we deserve
Tourmaline

A timely contribution that uplifts and champions queer makers who continue to transform art history, and the world
Legacy Russell, author of GLITCH FEMINISM and GAY POMPEII

About the Authors

Mollie E. Barnes is a curator, researcher and writer focused on equitable access and representation in the arts, working across contemporary visual culture. She is currently the Visual Arts Curator at Salisbury Cathedral. Gemma Rolls-Bentley is a writer and curator. She has curated internationally, including at ICA London, the Alice Austen House, New York, and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York. She has taught at the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins, London.

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