Postcard Artworks Raise Money for HIV

Postcards From the Edge, a wildly popular art sale held annually in New York City, benefits Visual AIDS, enabling the organization to establish contemporary art programs that promote HIV and AIDS awareness and also support artists living with HIV. This year 1,500 artists, both poz and not, donated 4-by-6-inch pieces of original artwork (photos, paintings, mixed media, etc.) for the benefit, where all the pieces will be sold at $85 each.

While some of the work is by amateur or emerging artists, others are fresh pieces from extremely well-known artists such as Catherine Opie, Robert Gober, Jim Hodges, Ed Ruscha, Kiki Smith, Paul Chan, Ann Hamilton, Hans Haacke, Lawrence Weiner, Julie Mehretu, Robert Longo, and Marilyn Minter, all of whom are getting major bank for their other work. But here's the catch -- all of the pieces are displayed anonymously, and the artists' identities aren't revealed until after the pieces are bought.

The sale has become so popular that art lovers camp out overnight for the opportunity to score a masterpiece for under $100. Since Visual AIDS held the inaugural Postcards From the Edge benefit in 1998, the event has raised over $700,000 and received 20,000 postcard-sized works donated by artists around the world.

Visual AIDS holds a preview party the night before the sale (this Friday), and the sale runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. This year the event is hosted by the gallery Luhring Augustine at 531 W. 24th St. For more information, visit VisualAIDS.org.

Click through this slideshow for a sneak peek at some of the amazing artwork available at the #VisualAIDS benefit: