The Stonewall Riots became a significant marker in the history of the gay liberation movement when on June 28, 1969, the patrons of the gay bar in Greenwich Village fought back against the incessant discrimination and persecution of police. The following year, the event was commemorated by the Christopher Street Gay Liberation March – known today as Pride. Yet, it would take more than 40 years for New York state to legally recognize same-sex marriages in 2011.
Opening on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, is a new exhibit at the Lehman College Art Gallery that makes a statement: we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.
“Queer Love” features work from dozens of queer artists which will be featured at the Lehman College Art Gallery through April 28, as well as La MaMa Galleria in the East Village which will open Feb. 18 and run through April 6.
Bartholomew Bland, the exhibits curator and Lehman College Art Gallery’s director believes that in an environment where young college students are still navigating life and romance and what those things mean to them, it is important to have a show that is “both beautiful and affirming,” he said.
The rotunda that separates the Lehman College Art Gallery into two wings features a site-specific installation by David Rios Ferreira with help from his husband Neil Fernando.
“Church of the Queer Immaculate” (2023), are multi-faceted portraits fixed in what mimics the shape and look of stained-glass church windows. Composed of color print, wallpaper, paint and collage, the work is a commentary on the immaculate conception. Ferreira likens the birth of Jesus Christ to that of a queer family signifying the queer as divine.
“It’s about putting this idea that Mary was gifted this child and didn’t receive this child in the traditional sense — I believe God led our daughter to us. And to me, that is just as divine as the epiphany or the nativity,” said Ferreira of his family, consisting of his husband and two-year-old daughter.
C. Finley another artist in the show, has a less abstract approach in that she likes to work with bold colors, iconography and form. Her 2022 work is the namesake of the exhibit, “Queer Love,” which highlights the relationships and lives of people who identify as queer. Painted in colors beyond the rainbow, the canvas shoots out streams of turquoise, yellow, violet and tan – with a heart of the same colors overlaying it on a bias.
“I love color, joy, love and passion. Everything I do is about the joy of color and color interaction,” said Finley.
Bronx-based artist, Paco Cao’s contribution to the exhibit is the artwork, “Love is Love,” 2022, an homage to the love of Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman. Leslie is the founder of The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, formerly the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. In 2010, Leslie wrote a touching love poem to his partner, Fritz for Valentine’s Day.
“Our passion for each other burnt the sky and kept our bed aflame ten thousand times,” it begins. Cao’s artwork takes the poem and places it on a life-sized jagged piece of black vinyl with the poem’s words emblazoned on it in fuchsia lettering. Cao created the piece as a metaphor of the several layers and directions a relationship can take.
“The queer community is growing more and more and more and it’s becoming, if not mainstream, part of regular life, at least in New York,” said Cao who points to the presence of queerness in TV shows and pop music.
“Modern Family” aired in 2009 and was the first depiction of a gay, married couple with a child on primetime television. Sam Smith is an openly gay pop star who has had several hits in the top 10 on the Billboard charts.
And while it seems that strides to normalize queer life have come a long way, there is more to go. Earlier this year, Pope Francis sat down for an exclusive interview with the Associated Press and said that “being homosexual isn’t a crime,” but he still recognizes it as a sin.
“Everyone wants to experience love of some form in their lives – that is the universal,” said Bland.
The opening will feature a list of curated love songs by the Lehman Stages singers and Valentine’s Day snacks will be provided. Reservations are required for entry and can be found on Eventbrite.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
This article was updated on Feb. 13 at 6:35 p.m.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
