Investing in queer art: Louis Fratino, Michaela Yearwood-Dan & Mickalene Thomas

Investing in queer art has gained significant traction in recent years as collectors, institutions, and investors recognise its cultural importance, growing demand, and long-term potential for value appreciation. Whether queer art is worth investing in depends on a combination of financial, social, and personal factors.

Major institutions, galleries, and private collectors are actively acquiring works by queer artists. Exhibitions celebrating LGBTQIA+ themes, such as those by David Wojnarowicz, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and Zanele Muholi have received widespread critical acclaim.

Firstly, let’s clarify what queer art stands for: it refers to a broad and dynamic category of artistic expression that explores themes related to LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other) identities, experiences, and perspectives. It often challenges normative constructs of gender, sexuality, and identity offering alternative narratives that celebrate fluidity, resistance, and diversity. Queer art is not confined to a specific style or medium; rather, it encompasses a wide range of approaches that reflect personal, social, and political dimensions of queerness.

To read more about Queer Art I recommend curator and Queer Circle activist Gemma Rolls-Bentley’s debut book, Queer Art: From Canvas to Club, and the Spaces Between. This comprehensive volume features nearly 200 artworks, mixing high-brow with low, gallery stalwarts with Instagram stars, and the racy with the fabulous. The book includes works by artists such as David Hockney, Nicole Eisenmann, Zanele Muholi, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, and contemporary art stars Sin Wai Kin, Zackary Drucker, and Clifford Prince King. It serves as a unique celebration of queer life and a testament to the profound impact of art and culture on the resilience of the human spirit.

My selection of queer artists that are gaining market momentum: Louis Fratino, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, Mickalene Thomas. 

Louis Fratino (b. 1993) is an American contemporary artist known for his deeply personal and intimate figurative paintings and drawings. His works often depict moments of tenderness, love, and sensuality, focusing on themes of queer identity, romance, and the human form. Fratino’s distinctive style draws inspiration from classical traditions of portraiture, modernist influences, and the aesthetics of early 20th-century art while integrating his own unique, vibrant, and emotionally charged perspective.

His works offer a narrative that centers on queer experiences, reflecting both personal memories and imagined scenarios. The emotional vulnerability and authenticity in his art have made his work particularly resonant within the LGBTQ+ community.

Michaela Yearwood-Dan (b. 1994, London) is a British contemporary artist celebrated for her lush, evocative, and multi-layered paintings. 

Her work engages with themes of queerness, identity, and intersectionality as central components of her artistic practice. As a queer, Black British artist, she uses her vibrant and expressive canvases to explore the complexities of contemporary life, celebrating the fluidity of gender, love, and desire while simultaneously addressing broader socio-political themes. Her art is deeply personal yet universally resonant, reflecting experiences of love, longing, joy, and struggle within marginalized communities.

Michaela’s works have been performing very well at auction reaching easily six figures results. There have recently been a couple of editions available at very affordable prices and please find here our little find. 

Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971) is a highly influential contemporary artist whose work is central to the evolution of queer art. She is best known for her vibrant, multimedia works that blend painting, photography, and collage, often featuring themes of race, gender, sexuality, and power. Her art draws heavily from art history, popular culture, and personal experience, placing queer Black women and feminine beauty at the forefront of her visual narrative.

Thomas' latest institutional show just opened in London at Hayward Gallery this month ‘All About Love’ is definitely a show to not miss in your artsy calendar!   

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