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
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
Emma in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, April 1984
By Jonathan Becker
Located in New York, NY
Emma in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 1984 Pão de Açucar, (Sugarloaf Mountain), Rio’s defining landmark looms in the background. Photographed by Jonathan Becker Contemporary 14" x 14.5...
Platinum
Southern Oaks
By Beth Moon
Located in Sante Fe, NM
All photographs are platinum/palladium prints. These metals are hand coated on 100% rag cotton water color paper with natural deckled edges and contact printed. Since platinum, like ...
Photographic Paper, Platinum
$4,950
H 16 in W 12 in
David Bowie and Elizabeth Taylor by Terry O'Neill - rare signed artist proof
By Terry O'Neill
Located in Austin, TX
Rare, signed artist proof print of David Bowie and Elizabeth Taylor by Terry O'Neill David Bowie and actress Elizabeth Taylor meet for the first time at George Cukor’s house in Beve...
Silver Gelatin
$2,300
H 20 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Willie Nelson, Spicewood, Texas - Black and White Portrait, Country Musician
By Michael O'Brien
Located in Denton, TX
Willie Nelson, Spicewood, Texas by Michael O'Brien is a black and white portrait of the adored country singer, songwriter and guitarist. This portrait features the side profile of Wi...
Archival Pigment
$50,000
H 30 in W 40 in
Frank Sinatra on the Boardwalk, Miami, 1968 - Lifetime Platinum Print
By Terry O'Neill
Located in Chicago, IL
Frank Sinatra arrives at Miami beach with his entourage (including his stand-in, dressed in an identical suit and less well-dressed beefy minders) while filming 'The Lady In Cement' ...
Platinum
$3,750
H 30 in W 60 in D 0.1 in
'Awakening' Master Edition Photographic Triptych. Yosemite Mountains Trees Light
By Sophia Milligan
Located in Penzance, GB
'Awakening' Archival photographic triptych. Unique Master Edition of 1. Unframed. _________________ Morning light illuminates the layered landscape of Yosemite National Park, Half D...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment
Pulqueria, Mexico, 1926
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Museo De Arte Moderno, Mexico Bosque De Chapultepec, Exposicion Inaugural El Dia 20 De Septiembre De 1964’ stamp on verso with artist, title, collection, EW birth/death date, number,...
Silver Gelatin
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page on Starship
By Neal Preston
Located in Mount Pleasant, SC
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page sitting on the tour plane together in 1975. Photograph by Neal Preston
Archival Pigment
$760
H 11.74 in W 7.92 in D 0.02 in
Jackie Onassis, new girl in town; Black and White; Paris, 1970s, 29, 8 x 20, 1 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. Her popularity as First Lady was due to her devotion to historical preservation of the White House, her fashion sense, and her devotion to her children, which endeared her to the American public. During her lifetime, Jackie was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death. (wikipedia) Description: Jacky Onassis, new...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
$524
H 6.46 in W 8.47 in D 0.02 in
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean) as little child, ca. 1927, 16, 4 x 21, 5 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Norma Jeane Mortenson or better known as Marilyn Monroe – iconic, beautiful and maybe the most known Hollywood Stars of the 20th century. Born and raised in Los Angeles, USA, she spe...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
$1,398
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
$1,398
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin