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.
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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
Chanel Vertical, 1990
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 15 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Silver Gelatin
Wrestler's Embrace
By Laurence Salzmann
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 10. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is pro...
Silver Gelatin
$4,500
H 16 in W 24 in
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 16 x 24 in Edition 57/75 by Lawrence Schiller
By Lawrence Schiller
Located in Culver City, CA
"Marilyn Monroe, 1962" Photography 16 x 24 in Edition 57/75 by Lawrence Schiller Silver Gelatin print Edition 57/75 Signed and numbered by the artist Printed later On Wednesday, May 23, 1962, Marilyn Monroe stepped onto the set of Something’s Got to Give to film what would become one of the most iconic and talked-about moments of her career: the now-legendary nude swimming pool scene. This extraordinary day—captured in a series of rare photographs by renowned photographer Lawrence Schiller—has since become a cornerstone of Hollywood history. Key moments that make this session truly historic: A Bold Cinematic First: Monroe spent nearly four hours in the pool on the 20th Century Fox lot, filming a sequence in which her character, Ellen Arden, appears to swim nude...
Silver Gelatin
$15,000
H 20 in W 24 in D 1 in
"Syd Barrett Laying on His Car" Photography 20" x 24" inch 14/50 by Mick Rock
By Mick Rock
Located in Culver City, CA
"Syd Barrett Laying on His Car" Photography 20" x 24" inch 14/50 by Mick Rock Edition: 14/50 Signed and numbered by Mick Rock Medium: Silver gelatin limited edition photographic pri...
Silver Gelatin
Balenciaga, 1991
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 25 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Silver Gelatin
Sarah's BBQ, Fourth of July
By Melissa Incampo
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition 1 of 21. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is p...
Silver Gelatin
"Kenny in Love", Miami Beach, Florida, 2000
By Lynda Churilla
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition 1 of 20. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is p...
Silver Gelatin
$40,000
H 30 in W 40 in
"David Bowie and Mick Ronson, in the Train 1973" 30 x 40 in 16/25 by Mick Rock
By Mick Rock
Located in Culver City, CA
"David Bowie and Mick Ronson, in the Train 1973" 30 x 40 in 16/25 by Mick Rock David Bowie and Mick Ronson, in the Train to Aberdeen, Scotland, 1973 Edition: 16/25 Signed and number...
Silver Gelatin
Minerva, 2000
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 25 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Silver Gelatin
Crysthansemums, 1995
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 25 CURRENT EXHIBITION - runs through May 8th, 2016. Any framed photographs purchased during the show wil...
Silver Gelatin
Eyeglasses, 1993
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 25 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Silver Gelatin
Look Away, 1990
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 25 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Silver Gelatin