Celebrating Pride Month with SAMA

In celebration of Pride Month, we asked curators across the Museum to highlight works by LGBTQ+ artists currently on view. Read on to learn more about Kehinde Wiley, Marsden Hartley, Jeffrey Gibson, and Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz—four extraordinary and diverse LGBTQ+ artists—then visit SAMA to see their work in person. 
Kehinde Wiley, American, ca. 1977, David Lyon, ca. 2013, 72 x 60 in. (182.9 x 152.4 cm), oil on canvas, purchased in honor of Harriet O'Banion Kelley with funds provided by The Walter F. Brown Family © Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley: David Lyon (2013)

This portrait of a young African American man, executed in 2013, was modeled after a nineteenth-century portrait by artist Sir Thomas Lawrence of the British merchant, member of Parliament, and enslaver, David Lyon. In opposition to the historical positioning of people of color, Wiley depicts his subject in a powerful, dignified manner, surrounded by a lush environment that serves as a symbol of growth and prosperity.

Born in Los Angeles and now based in New York, Wiley has spent his career challenging and reinventing traditional conceptions of art. Blurring the boundaries between historical and contemporary, he is known for creating larger-than-life portraits of young Black men and women in the style of Old Master paintings to challenge the Western art canon and draw attention to the underrepresentation of people of color in art. Wiley, who identifies as gay, frequently explores themes of identity, gender, and sexuality in his work. He made history in 2017 when he became the first Black, gay artist to paint the official portrait of the president of the United States.

Marsden Hartley, American, ca. 1877-1943, New England Still Life, ca. 1928-1929, 25 x 31 1/2 in. (63.5 x 80 cm), oil on canvas, San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Painting and Sculpture Council, Mrs. Ferdinand P. Herff, and Endowment Funds.

Marsden Hartley: New England Still Life (1928-29)

This still-life painting’s dramatic color and emotional abstraction exhibit Marsden Hartley’s uniquely American take on modernism. Originally from Maine, Hartley’s artistic studies in Cleveland and New York City would go on to inform his extensive career. In 1912, he embarked on his first journey to Europe in search of artistic inspiration—first in Paris and then Berlin, where he explored avant-garde painting, drawing, and sculptural styles, including Cubism. While in Germany, Hartley discovered an artistic style that resonated with him and began to come to terms with his sexuality. There, he met and fell in love with Prussian lieutenant Karl von Freyburg, who died within the first year of World War I. Despite his premature death, von Freyburg would go on to be a significant symbol in Hartley’s work, which was increasingly abstract and imbued with coded meaning.

Following the escalation of World War I, Hartley returned to the United States. However, American society was not nearly as open-minded as Berlin, and he faced significant repression at the expense of his sexuality. To deal with the loss of his partner and the difficulties of his surroundings, art became his emotional outlet. Although his art remained disguised with meaning, the emotion felt in his work was undeniable. Hartley’s enduring legacy is not only his masterful abstraction but also his remarkable individual strength. 
 

Jeffrey Gibson, Choctaw/Cherokee, ca. 1972, The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 2, ca. 2019, 58 × 72 in. (147.3 × 182.9 cm), canvas, cotton, vinyl, brass grommets, nylon thread, artificial sinew, dried pear gourds, copper jingles, glass and plastic beads, nylon ribbon, purchased with the Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund © Jeffrey Gibson

Jeffrey Gibson: The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 2

Jeffrey Gibson is a gay Choctaw-Cherokee multimedia artist renowned for his textiles and re-appropriated objects, which blur the lines between Indigenous craft, minimalism, and modernism. Through his art, Gibson explores the connections between popular culture, identity politics, personal experience, memory, and history. His work is instantly recognizable, fusing beautiful, traditional Indigenous craft and technique with that of contemporary aesthetics. The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 2, is inspired by the garments worn during nineteenth-century Ghost Dance spiritual movement ceremonies, which were used as a way to resist white settlement. The title of the piece refers to Oswald de Andrade's Manifesto Antropofago, in which he wrote in advocacy of a form of cultural cannibalism whereby colonized cultures could consume that of the colonizers to create a new, dominant visual tradition. This garment is a triumph of the hybrid style that defines Gibson’s work and his ongoing exploration of cultural and material themes. 

Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz, American, 1955-2023, Círculos de Confusion, 1993, Oil on paper on linen, 31 7/8 x 24 in. (81 x 61 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Edward A. Fest, by exchange, 95.16 © Estate of Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz

Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz: The Myth of Venus (1991), Circulos de Confusion (1993), La Primavera (1994)

You can feel the emotion and vibrancy of these paintings, almost as if the figures are about to jump off the canvas. Late San Antonio artist Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz, who passed away in April of this year, was known for his distinct style of portraiture. He frequently used his portraits to address themes of power, identity, and emotion. Being a gay Latino man from Puerto Rico, his works were often a form of self-exploration and discovery. Throughout his career, Rodríguez-Díaz developed a unique artistic aesthetic, frequently posing his subjects to mimic the style of Old Master paintings and subsequently blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary art. His brushwork and use of vibrant colors communicate a deep sense of emotion that both challenge traditional painting standards and acknowledge the power and tenacity of people of color. An advocate of public art and accessibility, Rodríguez-Díaz is remembered by San Antonio for the artistic contributions he made throughout the city. 

Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz, American, 1955-2023, The Myth of Venus, 1991, Oil on canvas, 72 x 55 in. (182.9 x 139.7 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Sandra Cisneros, 2013.43.1 © Estate of Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz

Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz, American, 1955-2023, La Primavera, 1994, Oil on canvas, 78 x 65 in. (198.1 x 165.1 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Sandra Cisneros, 2013.43.2 © Estate of Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz