JEROME in Manhattan

​If you are in the NYC area from May 11th to June 24th, be sure to see the new summer exhibition by Visual AIDS —“NO BIOS”. It is a group art show curated by Isis Awad with drawings, paintings, sculptures, and video from three generations of artists. It features artwork (including never-before-exhibited pieces) by Jerome Caja (1958–1995), Chloe Dzubilo (1960–2011), Stevie Cisneros Hanley, Reverend Joyce McDonald, Sofia Moreno, Pamela Sneed, Tabboo!, and D’Angelo Lovell Williams.

See logistics and programing below.

Big thanks to Isis Awad and Visual AIDS for including Jerome in this really special exhibition. This type of East Coast visibility for Jerome is so important, especially now, 28 years after Jerome’s death, when he was just on the cusp of national recognition.

Over the years, The Jerome Project and the estate have been working closely with Visual AIDS to insert Jerome back into the contemporary art narrative, give Jerome’s art the visibility it deserves, and reach the widest possible audience —“NO BIOS” does this!

Lastly, if you want to support both Jerome and Visual AIDS, then treat yourself to this lovely chapbook DUETS: Nayland Blake & Justin Vivian Bond In Conversation on Jerome Caja that Visual AIDS produced a few years back. There are still a few left in stock and it is a real gem.

​DUETS: Nayland Blake & Justin Vivian Bond In Conversation on Jerome Caja

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“Operation”
by Chloe Dzubilo
circa 2008–2011

​“Have a Bearry Nice Day” [sic]
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

​"Pantyhose Cowboy"
by Stevie Cisneros Hanley
circa 2021

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​NO BIOS:
CURATED BY ISIS AWAD FOR VISUAL AIDS
EFA PROJECT SPACE
MAY 11–JUNE 24, 2023

LOCATION:
EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, 2nd Floor
New York, NY , 10018
United States

Featuring artwork by Jerome Caja (1958–1995), Chloe Dzubilo (1960–2011), Stevie Cisneros Hanley, Reverend Joyce McDonald, Sofia Moreno, Pamela Sneed, Tabboo!, and D’Angelo Lovell Williams

GALLERY HOURS: Wed–Sat, 12–6PM
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 11, 5–8PM

No Bios showcases artists whose practice is deeply personal and biographical in nature, while resisting the art world’s tendency to reduce marginalized artists to their identity markers. Drawing in part from the Visual AIDS archive and artist registry, curator Isis Awad brings together a group of queer and trans artists of color, some of whom are living and thriving with HIV, alongside artists who have been lost to AIDS-related illnesses. In contrast to the somber, tragic, and alarmist overtones that often accompany representations of HIV and AIDS, No Bios presents mischievously playful and beautifully mundane artworks that speak to a determination to live beyond mere survival. A publication designed by Isai Soto will accompany the exhibition.

“This exhibition has nothing and everything to do with HIV. Some of the artists in the show live with HIV, some of them don’t. Some of them are still with us, and some of them aren’t. This is not an attempt to make sense of anything, or theorize a human’s relationship with a virus. What ties the artists in this show together is an unrelenting desire to make art against all odds; art that does not capitalize on its makers’ marginalized identities.” — Isis Awad

No Bios is presented as part of Visual AIDS’ annual exhibition program, which centers the organization’s expansive and living archive of artwork by HIV-positive artists. Each summer, Visual AIDS invites guest curators to organize thematic exhibitions that bring works represented in the archive into conversation with other contemporary artists.

Visual AIDS exhibitions are supported by a multiyear grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, as well as general operating grants from the Lambent Foundation, the Marta Heflin Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

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EXHIBITION PROGRAMING:

Opening Reception
Thursday May 11th at 6:00 PM

Catalog Launch & Reading with Pamela Sneed
Thursday May 25th at 6:00 PM

Artist & Curator Walk Through
Saturday June 17th at 2:00 PM

Visual AIDS Website

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by Anthony Cianciolo