Justin Liam O'Brien, Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves, 2022; Limited Edition Print
New York-based artist Justin Liam O’Brien’s work examines feelings of solitude, intimacy, anxiety and violence through an art historical lens with sweeping, figurative compositions. Inspired by the ACT UP generation of the late 1980s, specifically artists like David Wojnarowicz, Nan Goldin and Peter Hujar—the artist’s oeuvre examines queerness and belonging with a strong sense of place, just as these artists engaged with New York City in their practices. O’Brien has participated in exhibitions at Monya Rowe Gallery and Grimm Gallery among others.
Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves reimagines a scene from Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1982 film Querelle, wherein two brothers engage in a violent yet intricately choreographed knife fight. Referencing Oscar Wilde’s poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” Queerelle encapsulates O’Brien’s interest in the notion that love can be as beautiful as it is extreme, painful, even deadly. The artist has hand embellished ten works within the editions with acrylic details further engaging with Wilde’s text, making each of those prints unique works.
In honor of Pride Month, ART FOR CHANGE will donate a portion of proceeds from each print sold to the Audre Lorde Project, in support of LGBTSTGNC organization’s mission to achieve community wellness and progressive social and economic justice through mobilization, education and capacity-building. As in all series, artists will receive 50% of the net proceeds of print sales.
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*Unframed prints ship within 1-3 weeks.
*Framed prints ship within 3-6 weeks.