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
Andy Warhol and a Male Model
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken under the direction of Andy Warhol. Image dimensions: 8 x 10 in. Framed dimensions: 16 x 18 in. Work comes with an authentication letter from the Andy Warhol Authentication Board, Inc. Stamped on verso by the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. Provenance: Estate of the Artist to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to Hedges Projects...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of a Male Model at The Factory
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol of a male model at The Factory at 860 Broadway circa the late 1970s or early 1980s. Image dimensions: 10 x 8 in. Framed dimen...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of James Curley and Ian Falconer
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Authenticated by The Andy Warhol Authentication Board, Inc. Comes with an Authentication Letter. Stamped on the reverse by ...
Silver Gelatin
Diana Vreeland and Tinkerbelle
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work of Diana Vreeland and Tinkerbelle photographed by Andy Warhol at a party with Diana Vreeland, Earl McGrath, Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher in 1980. ...
Silver Gelatin
Phyllis Diller
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol of the comedic actress Phyllis Diller, known throughout the 1960s and 70s for her offbeat stage ...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of Robin Williams at a Thrift Store in the Village
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work of Robin Williams thrift-store shopping in the Village, April 17, 1979, photographed by Andy Warhol. Illustrated in The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol. Edited by Pat Hackett, Warner Books, 1991. Beginning his career in stand-up, Robin Williams made it big in the late 1970s co-starring in the comedy series Mork & Mindy. He went on to have a successful career starring in films like Popye, Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting...
Silver Gelatin
$20,000
H 8 in W 10 in
Andy Warhol, Photograph of John Stockwell and Bianca Jagger circa 1980
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Like her former husband Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Bianca Jagger enjoyed the nightlife New York City had to offer. K...
Silver Gelatin
Rudolf Nureyev, Bruce Jenner and Ahmet Ertegen
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Nicknamed "Lord of the Dance," Rudolf Nureyev was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, as well as the former director and chief choreographer of the Paris Opera Ballet. He is considered the all-time greatest male ballet...
Silver Gelatin
$24,000
H 8 in W 10 in
Monique van Vooren, Bob Colacello and Thomas Ammann at Studio 54
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bob Colacello talking to Monique van Vooren, photographed by Andy Warhol in the 1979 at Studio 54. Photograph dimensions: 8 x 10 in. This is a unique w...
Silver Gelatin
Bianca Jagger with Alana Stewart on Her Birthday
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Photograph of Bianca Jagger holding a birthday cake for Alana Stewart on her birthday by Andy Warhol in 1985. This photograph is published in "Andy Warhol Party...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of Andy Warhol with Liza Minnelli and Nell Carter
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Liza Minnelli is an actress and singer, winning an Academy Award in 1973 for her role in Cabaret. Liza entered Warhol’s social circle during the 70’s when...
Silver Gelatin
Priscilla Presley and Michael Edwards
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Priscilla Presley is an actress and the former wife of Elvis Presley. Additionally, she co-f...
Silver Gelatin