By Damian Hustone
The visual arts have long been a part of exploring queer life: from subtle suggestions in paintings during times when homosexuality was widely criminalized, to the raw liberation of protest art. As contemporary LGBTQ+ artists continue to express themes of love, loss, resistance, and resilience, social platforms like Instagram have seen explosions of queer art. The artists below portray both the big and small moments in LGBTQ+ life and beyond. Working across painting, digital art, lettering, photography, and more, these artists—some established, some rising—are well worth a follow.
Naima Green
Naima Green (@naimagreen) is a photographer, artist, and lecturer from New York City. She has exhibited extensively around New York and other US states. The image below is from PURᐧSUIT, a deck of 54 playing cards that features group and individual portraits of queer people, including cis, trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming models. They’re shot around eye-level, creating a compassionate and intimate lens. https://www.naimagreen.com/
FEWOCiOUS
Nineteen-year-old FEWOCiOUS, a.k.a. Victor Langlois (@fewocious) shot to fame last year for crashing the Christie’s website with a collection of five paintings that were available as NFTs. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength with drops of digital art that range from 2D paintings to 3D animations. This Pride month he collaborated with Billboard magazine to create a custom cover and launched a clothing line with mental health brand Madhappy, with net profits going to the Born This Way Foundation supporting LGBTQ+ community centers in the US.
David Ayllon
Fans of Ru Paul’s Drag Race might already be familiar with the work of this US-based photographer. David Ayllon (@davidayllon) is a creative director, graphic designer, and photographer with a passion for superheroes and bold imagery. His work has been featured in Huffington Post, Creative Quarterly, Playboy Magazine, and more. Some of his past clients include Elvira and Todrick Hall, as well as Drag Race winners Trixie Mattel and Sasha Velour.
Salman Toor
Salman Toor’s (@salman.toor) work feels like you are looking into his subjects’ lives through a window. Toor was born in Pakistan and now lives in New York, where he studied his MFA. His work has been exhibited internationally. Many of his earth-toned works are in oil, combining classical techniques with a sketch-y look that adds dynamism and a friendly atmosphere. Subjects play on their phones, laugh, and dance together in moments of connection and simplicity. https://www.instagram.com/salman.toor/?hl=en
Ximena Jiménez
Ximena Jiménez (@jimenezlettering) is a Colombian graphic designer who specializes in lettering. She has worked designing clothing, branding, and large-scale murals as can be seen below. Her clients include Facebook, Nokia, Nescafé, and The Washington Post. Ximena’s Instagram is packed with color and expressive shapes that convey uplifting messages. Over the last few years, she has collaborated with other artists to produce Pride-themed sticker packs with suitably rainbow-hued slogans. https://www.jimenezlettering.com/
Jeffrey Gibson
Another go-to inspiration for color and the joyful expression of powerful words is Jeffrey Gibson (@jeffrune). This American Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee artist works with multimedia including paint and beadwork, to create tactile pieces that celebrate Indigenous heritage and tackle other issues of identity and visibility. Many of his works feature words arranged from multicolored shapes that command your attention as you decode what they say. https://www.instagram.com/jeffrune/?hl=en
Isadora Zeferino
Voted as one of the 100 best international illustrators by TASCHEN, Isadora Zeferino (@imzeferino) has the ability to transmit unique emotions through her floral-inspired works. You can find her work on social media, book covers, and work for clients such as Faber-Castell and Wacom. https://www.instagram.com/imzeferino/?hl=en
Ebun Sodipo: A London-based artist whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses performance, film, sculpture, and collage. https://www.instagram.com/epastry/?hl=en
Sarah Zapata
Sarah Zapata (@sylk_z) is a Peruvian American artist who unites cozy craft with sensuality in her fiber-based works. Peruvian and American weaving techniques come together in her sculptures and installations that fill spaces with texture. From rugs to wall-hangings to sculptural objects, her work bursts with color. On the side of making art, she organizes drag king nights under the persona Jesus Zapato. https://www.sarah-zapata.com/
Vic Lentaigne
Another photographer who masters the intimate portrait is Vic Lentaigne (@viclentaigne), who also DJs in London. Her clients include British Vogue, Dazed, and many more. Soft colors and natural lighting abound in her work, and she aims to “explore themes of gender fluidity, queerness, identity and self-expression with a sense of quiet emotion,” according to her website. https://www.viclentaigne.com/
Fabian Chairez.
Finally, Fabián Cháirez (@fabian_chairez) is a painter whose work shot to fame (and maybe infamy) when a feminized portrait of revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata faced backlash and was partially hidden while on display in Mexico City. He questions and plays with ideas of national identity, religion, and sexuality in provocative oil paintings that include everyone from nuns to wrestlers. https://fabianchairez.com/
Thanks to Domestika.org for contributing to this piece. Domestika.org is the fastest-growing creative community where the best creative experts share their knowledge and skills through professionally produced online courses. It all started as an online forum and a small but dynamic showcase of creative professionals, designed to help them connect and learn from each other.
