David Wojnarowicz was an author, poet, photographer, musician, filmmaker and painter whose work as an AIDS activist influenced his visionary and revolutionary art. Personal experiences of disenfranchisement and the stories of people he met living on the margins of society informed the narratives of his work, with identity, sexuality and a bristling against political structures all contributing to its visceral edge. Wojnarowicz unapologetically channeled his anger at the injustices exacted on minorities and alternative lifestyles through repressive governments and financial systems into his paintings, prints, collages and photography.
Wojnarowicz was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1954. He had a tumultuous childhood, dropping out of high school and living on the streets by the time he was 16. He spent much of his youth hitchhiking, spending time in San Francisco and then Paris.
Wojnarowicz moved to New York’s East Village in 1978, where he began exhibiting his art, which he frequently made from found materials. He became a central figure in the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, refusing to censor his work, which often forthrightly reflected his queer sexuality and his fury at the conservative establishment. Particularly after the death of his lover Peter Hujar in 1987, he concentrated on the government’s political inaction during the AIDS crisis. As he wrote in his 1991 memoir, Close to the Knives, “To make the private into something public is an action that has terrific repercussions.”
Wojnarowicz died in 1992 from complications due to AIDS. His art is in major collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate Modern and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which has championed LGBTQ+ artists such as Wojnarowicz for decades. In 2018, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York held a retrospective of his work.
Find David Wojnarowicz mixed media works, paintings, photography and other art on 1stDibs.
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Arthur Rimbaud in Paris)
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
David Wojnarowicz Untitled (Arthur Rimbaud in Paris) 1980/2023 Estate stamped, verso Archival pigment print (Edition of 100) 6.16 x 4.125 inches, image 10 x 8 inches, sheet Con...
Archival Pigment
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Buffaloes), Black and White Photograph by David Wojnarowicz
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
Untitled (Buffaloes), Photograph by David Wojnarowicz 1988/1994 Estate stamp in black ink, vesro Also initialed “TWR” and numbered in black ink, vesro Platinum print (Edition of 10...
Platinum
Price Upon Request
Falling Man and Statue of Liberty
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
Collaboration between David Wojnarowicz and Jane Bauman Contact gallery for price. This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Paper, Spray Paint
Price Upon Request
Trial Run of "Burning House"
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
Spray paint on paper Contact gallery for price This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Paper, Spray Paint
Price Upon Request
Rimbaud in New York
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 6) Estate stamped in black ink, verso Also initialed "TWR" and numbered in pencil, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Between C & D)
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
In this offset poster, printed in collaboration with the Lower East Side literary magazine, "Between C & D," David Wojnarowicz confronts and denounces violence against members of the LGBT community. Cynthia Carr discusses this poster in her biography, "Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz." She relates the episode of when Wojnarowicz became estranged from collaborator Marion Scemama during the production of this piece and inked out her name on the copies of the poster in his possession. This is a copy from his estate. Between C & D (1983–1990) was a Lower East Side quarterly literary magazine edited by Joel Rose and Carherine Texier. Though a geographical reference to the blocks between Avenue C and Avenue D in New York City's East Village neighborhood, “Between C & D” has also been suggested to mean “between coke and dope,” giving an indication of the publication's transgressive content and ethos. The magazine's actual tagline was “Sex. Drugs. Danger. Violence. Computers.” It was printed on fanfold computer paper, sold in a plastic bag, and featured original artwork on each binding. Contributors included Kathy Acker, Dennis Cooper, Gary Indiana, Tama Janowitz...
Offset
"Legacy Tour: 2010-2011" Poster
Located in New York, NY
This poster was designed by Jasper Johns in 2009, and the portraits were taken by Anna Finke. It is signed by all of the dancers photographed on the ...
Offset
Tina Turner at hungry-i, San Francisco, 1967
By Baron Wolman
Located in Westwood, NJ
A very special Platinum Palladium artist proof (AP) print of Tina Turner performing at the Hungry-i in San Francisco on November 23rd 1967 which was to became the cover of Rolling S...
Platinum
$10,889
H 13.78 in W 10.63 in D 0.2 in
Kibo - Platinum Palladium Print, Elephant, black and white photography, wildlife
By Joachim Schmeisser
Located in München, BY
Edition 12 The Platinum-Palladium process is the most stable and aesthetically rewarding of all black and white photographic printing techniques. Produced by coating specially manuf...
Platinum
$1,100
H 12 in W 16 in
Michael Jordan on His 40th Birthday, 2003 - B&W Photograph, Matted and Framed
By Richard Shay
Located in Chicago, IL
As the personal photographer for this much loved Chicago icon, Richard Shay captured MJ on his 40th birthday celebration. This Artist Proof is matted and framed in a simple black frame measuring 16.25h x 20.25w x 1d inches. Richard Shay Michael Jordan on His 40th Birthday, 2003 archival pigment print 12h x 16w in 30.48h x 40.64w cm A.P. RSY006 Richard Shay grew up in Deerfield, Illinois where his father, the famed photojournalist, Art Shay and his wife Florence had moved to raise their family. Surrounded by the influence of his larger-than-life dad, Richard would go on to follow in his father's path. After traveling the world in his early 20's, Richard returned to Chicago and began photographing at The Oprah Winfrey Show. He became the family photographer for basketball player and Chicago treasure, Michael Jordan. He would go on to tour the US and Russia with The Smashing Pumpkins...
Archival Pigment
$499
H 18 in W 24 in
Lover (3/14) - Figurative Pink Pin Up Cowgirl Western Mixed Media Art on Paper
By Jesse Black
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Jesse’s imagery often merges playful and gritty elements, blending floral patterns, vintage-inspired designs, and bold outlines with a touch of whimsy. His artwork exudes a sense of ...
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Permanent Marker
$475
H 9 in W 12.5 in
"Oh Geez", Double Portrait of a Woman with Spinning Halos, Aerosol and Acrylic
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Oh Geez" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 9"h x 12.5"w framed and shipped in the featured woo...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 9 in W 12.5 in
"In The Distance (mini v3)", Vintage-Inspired Figurative Stencil Car Scene
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"In The Distance (mini v3)" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 9"h x 12.5"w framed and shipped i...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$1,340
H 30 in W 40 in
Spectator Tennis (1938) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
By H. Armstrong Roberts
Located in London, GB
Spectator Tennis (1938) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy) 1st December 1938. Spectators watching a tennis match at a country club. Addi...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$3,000
H 11 in W 14 in D 1.5 in
Killers For Hire, JFK, South Dakota 1960, Black and White Photograph by Art Shay
By Art Shay
Located in Chicago, IL
This photograph features John F Kennedy sitting on the back of a convertible with US Representative George McGovern in what at first glance appears to be a parade route in South Dako...
Silver Gelatin
$5,000
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Peter Beard - Elephant's Embryo, Uganda, Platinum Print- Unsigned
By Peter Beard
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Elephant's Embryo, Uganda Aributed to Peter Beard/Unsigned The original photograph "unsigned" but documented by its inclusion in "Peter Beard - Fifty Years of Portraits, The End of the Game...
Platinum
$500
H 12 in W 18 in D 0.5 in
"Quiet Morning", Landscape, Canoe, Marsh, Cape Cod, Black and White Photograph
By Rebecca Skinner
Located in Franklin, MA
Rebecca Skinner’s “Quiet Morning” is part of her "On and Off the Trail" series documenting the beautiful landscapes of New England. The 12 x 18 inch toned black and white photo of a ...
Metal
$23,499
H 59.06 in W 66.15 in
Craig, contemporary, wildlife, black & white photography, Elephant
By Joachim Schmeisser
Located in München, BY
Edition of 5 more sizes on request signed and numbered Craig, one of the last Big Tuskers in Amboseli, Kenya Joachim Schmeisser is represented by leading Galleries worldwide. His p...
Archival Pigment
Sold
H 6 in W 8 in
David Wojnarowicz 1986-1999: a set of 4 illustrated announcements
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in NEW YORK, NY
David Wojnarowicz 1986-1999: a set of 4 illustrated announcements: A rare set of 4 vintage gallery announcement cards, 3 of which published during Wojnarowicz's lifetime. Published o...
Offset
Sold
H 6 in W 8 in
David Wojnarowicz illustrated announcement 1987 (Gracie Mansion gallery)
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in NEW YORK, NY
David Wojnarowicz’s The Four Elements at Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York, 1987. Offset printed announcement card; approximately 6x8 inches (folded closed). Good overall vintage co...
Offset
David Wojnarowicz illustrated announcement New York 1983
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in NEW YORK, NY
David Wojnarowicz New York 1983: Rare early 1980s David Wojnarowicz illustrated announcement card advertising a sale at Dianne Benson’s store, Dianne B, Decem...
Offset
Untitled (One Day This Kid. . .)
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in New York, NY
Letterpress (Edition of 100) Estate stamped in black ink and numbered, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. David Wojnarowicz was born in Red Bank, ...
Black and White
Act Up (Diptych)
By David Wojnarowicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: David Wojnarowicz Title: Act Up (Diptych) Year: 1990 Medium: Two Silkscreens, one signed and dated in pencil Image: 18.5 x 23.5 inches Each Sheet ...
Screen