Strange State of Being is an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Hugh Steers (1962β1995). A figurative painter, the artist was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, ultimately succumbing to AIDS-related complications in 1995 at the age of 32. The galleryβs show takes its title from a 1994 quote by the artist, βThere seems to be a buzz. β¦ Iβm in such a strange state of being, and nothingβs ever going to be the same.β Reflective of his state, Steersβs compositions, enigmatic scenes of sickness and tenderness, unflinchingly bear witness to the true cost of the AIDS epidemic while speaking to our present health crisis and political fragility.
the majority of Steersβs compositions articulate his inner fears and desires as he made art under the specter of the virus. Highlighting the influence of the Western canon on his practice, a series of images, including Girl in Blue and Red (1987), feature an imp-like child whose eerie presence recalls that of the creature from Henry Fuseliβs The Nightmare (1781). In Gold Box (1988), Steers presents this being blinding a man as a snake slithers from an open box. Referencing the myth of Pandora, who released sickness into the world, this menacing paintingβcreated one year after the artist tested positive for HIVβexpresses his despair at the diagnosis. Similarly ominous, additional canvases from this period also contain snakes, as well as harbingers of death like crows.
Despite these portents, while indelibly shaped by the AIDS crisis, Steersβs work always rises above its grim realities. As the writer Justin Spring suggests, at the core of the artistβs oeuvre is ββ¦ a lingering desire for something transcendent.β Searching for transcendence in the midst of the epidemic, Steersβs paintings gain new resonance in 2021. Their imagery, limned by what the artist once described as the βsoft glow of brutality,β anticipates the isolation, loss, and uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Strange State of Being is on view through April 3 @ Alexander Gray Associates 510 West 26 Street, New York