GAYLETTER

I didn’t know much about Steven Arnold’s work before learning about this exhibition, that opens this Thursday, October 29 at Daniel Cooney Fine Art. One of the great things about doing this newsletter is that I get to learn about new things and people all the time. Here’s what I learned so far, Steven was based in LA in the 80s and early 90s, he was a protégé of Salvador Dali and was mainly known for his photography, but he was also interested in filmmaking, painting, illustration, set and costume design, and “assemblage” sculpture. “For several months he lived communally, taking LSD every day, experimenting with paints and costumes and taking up residence in caves. Arnold recalls: “This new drug [LSD] was so euphoric and visionary, so positive and mind expanding… I ascended to another dimension, one so beautiful and spiritual that I was never the same.” Now, his work makes more sense to me.

This is the first exhibition of Steven’s vintage prints. He created stunning and intriguing “tableaux vivants” surrealistic images photographed in black and white. “Arnold was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 at the height of his popularity and died in 1994.” Also, don’t miss a Visual AIDS sponsored conversation on Nov. 3 between Esther McGowan (Associate Director of Visual AIDS) and Vishnu Dass (Exec Director of Steven Arnold Archive).

Below is a preview from Steven Arnold’s exhibition:

FREE, 6:00PM-8:00PM, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, 508 – 526 West 26th Street. #9C. NY, NY.