Exhibition 2023

Dissident Affections: Sexual diversity in contemporary art.

Latin America Memorial, São Paulo, Brazil.

Part of The Queer Museum, this collection forms the largest international exhibition of contemporary queer art held in São Paulo to date.

Starting at the Latin America Memorial in São Paulo, in the context of Pride Month, the exhibition will tour different cities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Artists: Grzegorz Pieniak (Poland), Stuart Sandford (United Kingdom), Daniel Torrent (Spain), David Jester (USA), Anuwat Apimukmongkon (Thailand), Juliusz Lewandowski (Poland), Doug Blanchard (USA), Fe Maidel (Brazil), Zaida Gonzalez (Chile).

Curator: Cheo González.

In June 2023, within the context of Pride Month, the exhibition “Dissident Affections: Sexual Diversity in Contemporary Art” took place at the Latin America Memorial in São Paulo. It is the largest international exhibition of contemporary LGBTQIA+ art held in São Paulo to date. The exhibition showcases a portion of The Queer Museum’s collection and was organized in conjunction with the International Center for Diversity Culture (CICD), the Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy of the Government of the State of São Paulo, and Diversa. 

The exhibition features artists from countries such as Brazil, Poland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Spain, among others, offering an overview of the current work of LGBTQIA+ artists from diverse realities and cultures around the world. Historically, art has played a fundamental role as a means of expression for humanity. However, it was sexual dissidents who, in order to convey emotions that could not be expressed directly due to religious and political repression but also could not be suppressed, developed codes and camouflage to display eroticism and feelings that gave complexity and depth to artistic expressions.

From Leonardo da Vinci to Andy Warhol, we can observe how the expression of sexual dissidence has paved its way even in more conservative societies. Currently, in many parts of the world, especially in totalitarian states and theocracies, sexual dissident art continues to fulfill this activist mission. However, primarily in the Western world, it has also become a tool of protest that confronts traditionalist institutions and individuals with dissidence that often lacks spaces and visibility. This is the spirit of “Dissident Affections: Sexual Diversity in Contemporary Art” – to showcase artistic expressions that reclaim the diverse sexualities existing in the world, creating a panorama of art being produced by our community at this specific moment and sharing with the public the dialogues and codes of contemporary art.

The Exhibition

Exhibition artists

Chilean artist Zaida Gonzalez
Artist

Zaida Gonzalez

Zaida Gonzalez Gonzalez is a transfeminist photografer, and one of the most prominent authors in the contemporary Latin American scene. She graduated in Photography and

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Artist

Daniel Torren

Daniel Torrent With a degree in Art History, Torrent has been awarded the Junceda for Best Adult Illustration, the Young Creators award from the Fita

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Artist

Anuwat Apimukmongkon

Anuwat Apimukmongkon Based in the Deep South of Thailand in Asia, Apimukmongkon is a queer artist, curator, and lecturer at the Faculty of Fine and

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Juliusz Lewandowski: Polish, gay artist.
Artist

Juliusz Lewandowski

Juliusz Lewandowski Juliusz Lewandowski is a Polish painter, former worker, queer, antifa, and self-taught. Born in 1977. Juliusz Lewandowski exhibitions “In an antifascist counter-protest against

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Artist

Stuart Sandford

Stuart Sandford Stuart Sandford is a multidisciplinary artist based between London, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. Working (and often combining) different mediums, including photography, sculpture,

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Grzegorz Pieniak, Polish gay artist.
Artist

Grzegorz Pieniak

Grzegorz Pieniak Pieniak, born in 1994, studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He is a co-founder and member of Otwarta Pracownia

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Doug Blanchard gay artist
Artist

Doug Blanchard

Doug Blanchard A Texan living in New York City since 1991. MA in art history from Washington University, and an MFA cum laude from the

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Artist

Cheo Gonzalez

Cheo Gonzalez Cheo Gonzalez investigates the communication between official discourse and popular response through interventions in walls and public places, making his visual work interact

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Artist

Fe Maidel

Fe Maidel Trans activist, artist, and psychologist. She is a member of the Municipal Council of Policies for Women, the director of Employability, Quality, and

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Davis Jester, American gay artist.
Artist

David Jester

David Jester David Jester has dedicated the last four years of his career to creating vibrant images of young men, depicted in the nude and

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