PHOTOGRAPHY: Peter Hujar’s Portraits of New York’s Drag Scene in the 70s and Early 80s to Go on Display in London.

MARIO MONTEZ BACKSTAGE AT THE PALM CASINO REVUE, 1974 © 1987 THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE LLC, COURTESY THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE AND MAUREEN PALEY, LONDON

In the latest exhibition of Peter Hujar’s work, the performers of New York’s nightclubs and theatres from a bygone era are once again in the spotlight.

Set to go on display at the Maureen Paley gallery in London (dates are yet to be confirmed), the exhibition will give audiences a glimpse into the underground drag culture of the time. 

JOHN FLOWERS, 1974. © 1987 THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE LLC, COURTESY THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE AND MAUREEN PALEY, LONDON

COCKETTE [BEARED COCKETTE], 1971 © 1987 THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE LLC, COURTESY THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE AND MAUREEN PALEY, LONDON

“Hujar's intimate portraits of his subjects applying make-up or in full drag document a moment of transformation and reflect on the many nuances of gender,” said the gallery in a press release.

Hujar’s photographs have been recently exhibited in the solo touring exhibition Speed of Life. Organised by the Morgan Library & Museum in New York and Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid, 2017, Speed of Life also toured to Fotomuseum, The Hague, Netherlands, 2017; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), California, USA, 2018, Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio, USA, 2019 and finally at Jeu de Paume, Paris, France in 2019.

LARRY REE BACKSTAGE, 1973 © 1987 THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE LLC, COURTESY THE PETER HUJAR ARCHIVE AND MAUREEN PALEY, LONDON.

Hujar passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1987,” leaving behind a complex and profound body of work that has become posthumously celebrated”.

All images courtesy The Peter Hujar Archive LLC, courtesy The Peter Hujar Archive and Maureen Paley, London.