THE JEROME PROJECT -  preserving Jerome Caja's artistic legacy
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I: Miniature Enamel Lacquer Paintings

This is a small sample of the hundreds and hundreds of pieces Jerome painted. He worked with everything you would find in the purse of a drag queen (nail polish, glitter, make-up, and eye liner). His canvases included plastic tip trays, tin can lids, lockets, ornaments, Band-Aids, small scraps of paper, and candy wrappers. Most of these pieces fit in the palm of your hand. Jerome intended for them to be personal and intimate, not larger than life. He was often asked to paint larger, and in his typically rebellious way, he would work on an even smaller scale, painting the insides of discarded bottle caps and even on pistachio shells.


II: White-Out Flyer Announcements

These torn paper flyers are from Jerome's shows (dates and times were written on the back). They are high-contrast xerox copies of paintings mixed with white-out and enamel. Jerome was highly selective about who he'd work with and where he'd exhibit his work. He was very shrewd when it came to understanding where he needed to be in order to further his career. Jerome never created his own artist’s resume, and he relied heavily on others to do the administrative tasks needed to promote his work.


III: Miniature Enamel Lacquer Paintings & Details

PLEASE NOTE: The artwork on this gallery page has been collected and excerpted from various sources. Some of the material is from Thomas Avena and Adam Klein's book Jerome: After the Pageant, and the rest of the images were taken from various web sites like Gallery Paule Anglim, Visuals AIDS, and San Francisco's Queer Cultural Center. Eventually everything here is going to be properly re-photographed and indexed in the on-line catalogue raisonné.

Picture
"Venus in Cleveland" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, glitter, and white out on paper, 
7 x 4 in., unknown date)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, and glitter on paper, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in., unknown date)

Picture
"The Trinity" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, and glitter on paper,
7 X 4 in., 1988)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Have a Beary Nice Day" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, and glitter on industrial metallic foil, u
nknown dimensions and date)
Excerpted from Anglim Gilbert Gallery website



Picture
"Bird Screaming at Her Eggs" - by Jerome Caja
(conti crayon, gold marker, eyeliner, and wax on paper, u
nknown dimensions, 1992)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995

Picture
"Bozo Fucks Death" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, and white out on plastic tip tray,
7 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 1/2 in., 1988)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995



Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on paper
4 1/2 x 4 1/5 in., unknown date)


Picture
"Bozo Picks a Boyfriend" - by Jerome Caja
(gouache, watercolor, eyeshadow on paper,
13 x 16 in., 1992)
​
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995

Picture
"Bozo the Sperm" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, and glitter on paper, u
nknown dimensions, 1994)
Excerpted from the Visual AIDS website



Picture
"Charles Devouring Himself" - by Jerome Caja
(human ash, resin, and nail polish on aluminum tray,
8 1/2 in. diameter x 1 in. deep, 1991)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995



Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on paper, u
nknown dimensions and date)
​
Excerpted from the Visual AIDS website


Picture
"Eggs Having Turkey Dinner" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on metal tip tray,
3 3/4 x 6 3/4 x 3/8 in., 1989)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on paper, u
nknown dimensions and date)


Picture
"Ham and Eggs" - by Jerome Caja
(enamel, nail polish, and gold leaf on metal can,
12 x 6 1/5 x 1/2 in., 1991)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Sailor with Pearls" - by Jerome Caja
(white-out, enamel, and ink on paper, u
nknown dimensions, 1989)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Little Yellow Angels" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on tray,
11 x 5 in. oval tray, unknown date)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(paint on paper and styrofoam cup,
5 1/2 x 5 in., unknown date)
Excerpted from the Anglim Gilbert Gallery website


Picture
"New Eyes for Saint Lucy" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on a tip tray, u
nknown dimensions, 1994)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995



Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on paper, u
nknown dimensions and date)


Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish, enamel, and pistachio shells on plaque, u
nknown dimensions and date)
Excerpted from the Ratio 3 website (Revival Kiki Gallery)



Picture
"Alice Jacking Off Her Jack Rabbit" - by Jerome Caja
(watercolor and gouache on torn paper,
9 5/8 x 11 5/8 x 1 1/4 in., 1991)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995



Picture
"Bozo Venus Peeing on a Burning Bush" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on paper, u
nknown dimensions, 1987)
Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995


Picture
"Untitled" - by Jerome Caja
(nail polish and enamel on paper, u
nknown dimensions and date)


Picture
"Screaming Woman with a Bloody Knife" - by Jerome Caja
(mixed media: enamel and nail polish on paper,
13 x 11in., unknown date)
Excerpted from the Anglim Gilbert Gallery website



Picture
"Art Gallery Flyer I" - by Jerome Caja
(photo copy on paper, u
nknown dimensions and date)


Picture
"Art Gallery Flyer II" - by Jerome Caja
(photo copy on paper, unknown dimensions and date)

Picture
"Art Gallery Flyer III" - by Jerome Caja
(photo copy on paper, unknown dimensions and date)

Picture
"Art Gallery Flyer IV" - by Jerome Caja
(photo copy on paper, unknown dimensions and date)

​Top Banner: Detail from the painting "Fruit Bowl Passion Play" by Jerome Caja, Excerpted from: Jerome After the Pageant, 1995

Picture
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Thank you to our Supporters!

  • The Estate of Jerome Caja
  • The Caja Family in Cleveland
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  • San Francisco Film Society (SFFS)
  • Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)
  • San Francisco Film Commission
  • San Francisco Art Institute
  • Keneth Rainin Foundation
  • Gallery Paule Anglim
  • SFFS Filmmaker360
  • SFFS FilmHouse
  • Verasphere
  • Visual AID