Peter Hujar and Paul Thek met in 1956. Until Hujar's death, the two artists remained close friends - a strong connection on both a spiritual and artistic level, which influenced the artistic work of both artists.

The life and art of Peter Hujar (1934-1987) are closely connected to New York. He moved in the intellectual environment of avant-garde dance, music, art and drag performances. Originally coming from the field of commercial photography, Hujar became more interested in depicting real life from the early 1970s onwards and from then on photographed people, animals and plants, still life, landscape and city, with the portrait taking a central place in his work.

Paul Thek (1933-1988) was an American sculptor and painter. Besides the sculptures and installations for which he is best known, he also created paintings and drawings. In the early 1960s Thek travelled to Europe, where he created extraordinary environments that were shown in important international exhibitions. In them, elements from the fields of art, literature, theatre and religion were intertwined, broadening the concept of work at the time and questioning the perception of art and life. 

The group exhibition will be on view throughout March 14, 2020 at Mai 36 Galerie Raemistrasse 37, Zurich, CH. photographs courtesy of the gallery