Author: Joseph Abbati

UN//TITLED: An Anthology of Queer Contemporary Art (2016 – 2020) I will be a featured artist along with 75 other queer artists being published in April 2021 by Balaclava.Q (John Hopper Publishing)

“Shape Shifters” is a metaphorical representation of the lives of queer individuals, showcasing their resilience and strength in navigating a world that often seeks to limit their identity. Abbati’s paintings are a celebration of the beauty and diversity of the queer community and their ability to shape-shift in order to find their place in the world.

Through his art, Abbati creates his own metaverse of the queer community.  The exhibit features a collection of figure studies, each one showcasing a unique aspect of the queer experience.

These paintings represent what has been exhibited in the first half of 2024. Part of these include a series of portraits for the exhibit “KINDRED,” a celebration of the the friendship Abbati has with two other artists to celebrate Pride 2024.
The portraits captures the multi-facets of his subjects with shifting perspectives. In doing so, the paintings represent the expanding spectrum of queer identity and visibility.

New paintings from 2020.

I am part of Root Division’s “Introductions 2020” this year opening August 19, 2020. Six pieces will be part of this group exhibit from my “Queeries” series of artwork. View the online exhibit at https://rootdivisiontalk.wpcomstaging.com/gallery/

The catalog for this exhibit can be viewed here: https://issuu.com/rootdivision/docs/intro2020_catalogue/16

These assemblages are an extension of the “Queeries” series made with different inlaid wood veneers stained with acrylic paint.

Senator Scott Wiener and Joseph Abbati, Curator, host an online photographic exhibit celebrating fifty years of Pride. “SF Pride 2020 – 50 Years” features nine San Francisco Bay Area photographers and film makers with over 900 photographs and seven films spanning five decades documenting San Francisco Pride parades and events.

The photographers include: Arthur Tress, Gooch, Ron Williams, Tommy Wu, Darryl Pelletier, Jim James, Rink Foto, Rich Stadtmiller, and Charles Roseberry. Each photographer brings a wealth of history to create a narrative about the celebration of LGBTQ+ lives at our San Francisco Pride parades from the 1970s to 2019.

This is the golden anniversary of SF Pride for the LGBTQ+ community. There is still more education needed to pass our history down to future generations and to not forget where LGBTQ rights started from and where we are today. This is a document for us to reflect how far we have come. We celebrate the strong will of our community which has fought hard and showed the world that “we’re here, we’re queer,” and we haven’t finished claiming our human rights.

“Jock,” 2020, acrylic on canvas, 24″ X 24″ was part of an exhibit at Gallery 110 in Seattle, WA titled “Eros, C’est la Vie.”

Each year the Castro District of San Francisco pays tribute to its gay hero and icon Harvey Milk celebrating his birthday with windows of art.  This year I contribute a painting titled “Icon” which is hanging in the window of Stut at 470 Castro St. throughout May, 2020.

“Icon”, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 24″ X 24″

Window at Strut

Window at Strut

Window at Strut

The shelter-in-place has given me time to work and experiment on new paintings.  These studies are acrylic on 12″ tondo wood panels following the series I started titled “Queeries.”