Remembering the Height of AIDS Through a Young Person's Eyes in New Art Exhibit
| 11/03/23
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'The Secrets of Summer' Remembers the 1980s From a Young LGBTQ+ Person's Viewpoint
Images: Julien Tomasello
Mixing Patrick Nagel women, pool parties, and harrowing news reports, an exhibition running this month at Strut, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s health and wellness center, explores what it was like to be a young LGBTQ+ person at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
“‘The Secrets of Summer’ is an ongoing series of collage-on-panel works,” says a statement from the artist, Julien Tomasello, a former staffer with our sister publication Out. “Each work possesses a narrative of ‘autobiographical fiction.’ These narratives blend events, dreams, and desires I experienced as an LGBTQ+ young person during the 1980s and 1990s, with threads of fictions influenced by the books, music, films, television, and art I absorbed during this time. Escapism was a panacea to the isolation and fear I felt during my youth. The world around me seemed steeped in conformity, homophobia, and later, darkness as AIDS began its ravage of the LGBTQ+ community I hoped to become part and made the expression of love seem toxic.”
The exhibit opened Wednesday and will continue through November 25. There will be an opening reception from 8 to 10 tonight (Friday, November 3). The event is free and includes wine, snacks, and nonalcoholic drinks, but RSVPs are required at Eventbrite.com. Strut is located at 470 Castro St. in San Francisco.
Find more information about Tomasello’s art here, and scroll down for more samples from the show.
Dream House
Image: Julien Tomasello
Dream House
Image: Julien Tomasello
Age of Consent
Image: Julien Tomasello
Age of Consent
Image: Julien Tomasello
Tea With Hockney
Image: Julien Tomasello
Tea With Hockney
Image: Julien Tomasello
Tea With Hockney
Image: Julien Tomasello
Dream House
Image: Julien Tomasello
