Cultural Spotlight: Artists, Artisans, and Performers

Below are listed some of the artists, artisans, performers, and other cultural contributors who enlighten and enliven our Cultural District.

For each artist, we list their contact info, Web and social media links, a little about their work, and a few samples, all exactly as provided by the artist.

We encourage you to explore the works of these folks, and to support them however you can:  visit their galleries, buy their work, commission them for a mural or other project, or simply donate to their Patreon or other fundraising campaigns.

Artists in any category, or working in any medium, are invited to join this list. 

Learn more, and sign up!

TIP:  Up to five work samples are shown for each artist.  Click on a picture (NOT on the play/pause icon) to view it full size.  Then use the (i) button to show the image title (if available).  Press Esc to exit full-size view.

Joseph Valliere
openwristdesigns@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media
Tumbler page
Instagram Page
I make fetish gear out of rubber flooring and bike tires and I’ve started making t-shirts.
The Artist:


Work Samples:

Kegan Marling
kegan@keganmarling.org
Categories:  Physical Media, Digital Media, Performance
http://keganmarling.org/
Leather & Kink Photographer, Event Photographer
The Artist:

Work Samples:

Curt Janka aka CJ Brume
Categories:  Digital Media, Graphic Design and Photography
curt@curtjanka.com
https://www.curtjanka.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cjbrume/
4522 19th St, San Francisco, CA 94114
Creative Direction, Graphic Design and Photography
The Artist:

:
Work Samples:
This is a video I compiled in the days after the Orlando shooting of the photos I took of people in the Castro kissing on camera to send a positive message and love and support to the victims and survivors.

Daniel Cherry
huggybearinleather@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media, Painting, drawing
https://www.facebook.com/huggybearinleather
General working artist
The Artist:


Work Samples:

Scot Hammond
Hammond.scot@yahoo.com
Categories:
Physical Media (sculpture, oil painting, sketches on paper, etc.);Performance;Writing
Facebook
Original hand drawn illustrations (without utilizing any computer graphics, software or digital work). I specialize in children’s book illustrations, erotic illustrations, greeting cards, cartoons, silhouettes, portraiture and landscapes. I do portraiture in charcoal, and landscapes in acrylic. I work primarily in pencil, charcoal, India Ink, pen, water color and Goache on paper or on Crescent Illustration Boards.
I also write erotic stories, children stories and fiction.  I performed on stage in comedy plays and musicals.
The Artist
:

Work Samples:

Rodrigo Alban Hubach
rodrigoalbanhubach@yahoo.com
Categories: Physical Media (sculpture, oil painting, sketches on paper, etc.), Cement on canvas mix media
The artist:


Web sites:
http://rodrigoalbanhubach.com
Twitter; Facebook.com; Instagram
Studio:
535 NW 1st Ave. Studio 4
Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301
Express everything that I am passionate about life including my emotions, my historical moment and my sexuality.
Work samples:
Ties of Freedom
Vortex
Abstracion:  I Feel Free
Sacks and Cement in the Art of Rodrigo:  Receiver
The Expressionist School in the Art of Rodrigo:  Gay Men Sauna Scene

R. Black
rblack@rblack.org
Categories: Physical Media
The artist:

Web sites:
http://www.rblack.org
https://pin.it/lyTV2ug

Liminal Space SF
liminalspacesf@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media, Digital Media, Performance, Writing, and Installation

San Francisco’s first Trans-Centering gallery, Liminal Space SF is launching after quarantine when it is safe to gather. Liminal Space is committed to building community and expanding access to exhibition space and curatorial opportunities for Transgender artists (and artists making relevant work). We strive to create opportunities in a city that has few for emerging, early career, youth, elder, student and QTBIPOC artists.
Web sites:
https://www.instagram.com/liminalspacesf/
liminalspacesf.com
liminal-space
Gallery:
16 Sherman Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Sample:

Prep3 - Sam Claude

Sam Carmel
samclaudecarmel@gmail.com
Categories:Physical Media (sculpture, oil painting, sketches on paper, etc.), Digital Media, Performance, Making Gear, Toys, Etc., Installation
In my studio practice I use sculpture and installation to imagine new possibilities for my body and create symbols of pride and resistance for my community.
Web sites:
samclaudecarmel.com  and @hyperabstract
Gallery:
16 Sherman Street, San Francisco CA 94103
Work Samples:

Queertopia
queertopia@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media (sculpture, oil painting, sketches on paper, etc.), Digital Media, Writing
We are a collective of queer and kinky artists, writers, and event organizers in SOMA/Mission.
The artist:


Work Samples:

Jarrad Webster
jtleebbsf@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media , Digital Media, Performance, Making Clothing, Making Gear, Toys, Etc.
Blending Art and Smut using 20+ years of nightlife experience and other varied skills. I do everything from costuming and photography to handyman and DJing.
The artist:

Web sites:
http://www.suppositorispelling.com/
https://www.mixcloud.com/suppositori-spelling/ 
Work Samples:

Daniel F. Nicoletta
owlmandanny@gmail.com
Categories:
Digital Media, Photography
I am a photographer who has devoted the last four+ decades to preserving the LGBT civil rights journey in media formats.
Web sites:
http://dannynicoletta.com
https://www.instagram.com/dannic100/
The artist:

:
Gallery:
1223 NW Prospect Ave, Grants Pass, OR 97526
Work Samples:
See Web site, or contact directly to request samples. 

Photos by BIRON
photosbybiron@me.com
Categories: Physical Media, Digital Media, Writing
Early 1970s University of Michigan Gay activist and a founder of both the Gay Community Services (GCS) Center and the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) in Ann Arbor, before relocating to SF in May 1978 and working with on the ‘No on 6’ campaign and collaborating with Robert Opel. From the early 1990s, my studio photography and my documentation of annual SF LGBTQ+ public events – like the Folsom St. Fair – have focused on images of multicultural males, largely ignored in our community, but archived at the Kinsey Institute since 2013.
The artist:


Web site: http://www.photos-biron.com
S&M blog PERROS: https://nuevaediciondeperros.blogspot.com/search/label/Biron
Talenthouse art works: https://www.talenthouse.com/photos-by-biron/items
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbiron 
Work Samples:

Poppers the Pony
aka Dorian Katz
poppersthepony@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media (sculpture, oil painting, sketches on paper, etc.)
I draw in ink on paper in a cartoony style. I also make comics, zines and prints. I’m very interested in making murals from my drawings in the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District and beyond.
The Artist


Web sites: https://poppersthepony.bigcartel.com, https://www.instagram.com/poppers_the_pony/  
Work Samples:

Greg Burger
the_tomato_11@hotmail.com
Categories: Digital Media, Making clothes
I am mainly a photographer but I also make gear, costumes, and clothing
The artist:


Web sites:
www.instagram.com/gremeleon for stuff i make
www.instagram.com/nox_vomica for photography
Work Samples:

Alex Prestia
art@a1205x.com
Categories:  Physical Media , Digital Media
I create gay art to create more gay and to create more art.
The artist:


Web sites:
www.a1205x.com
www.instagram.com/a1205x 
Work Samples:

James Leon
jamesleon120@yahoo.com

Categories: Physical Media , Digital Media, Music, Performance, Writing
Screenwriter/Filmmaker/Photographer/Musician/Artist
The artist:

Web sites: https://jamesleon120.wixsite.com/chameleonawol
Gallery:  8815 Quakertown Ave, Northridge, CA 91324

Work Samples:

Elliott C Nathan
elliottcnathan@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media
Painter, Muralist, Event Producer (Art Shows & Nightlife Events)
The artist:


Web site:   elliottcnathan.com
Gallery:  1067 Market Street (Art Studio)
Work Samples:

Josh Katz
jwkatz91@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media 
Street artist, spray paint muralist, and stencil artist.
The artist:


Web site:  www.jkatz.art
Work Samples:

BEARPAD
HEYBEARPAD@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media, Digital Media, Music, Performance, Making Clothing
A fuzzy fella run, small time, hand printed business. BEARPAD makes limited runs of shirts, zines, stickers, and wall art. Harkening back to the early ideals of the bear movement and looking beyond. A hopeful utopia of body positivity and diversity, celebrating affection between round squishy fellas.
The artist:

Web site: www.shopbearpad.com
Work Samples:

Johnny Botts
johnny@johnnybotts.com
Categories:  Physical Media
I paint colorful robots, with the intention to create artwork that is uplifting, encouraging and playful.
The Artist::


Web site:
www.johnnybotts.com
Work Samples:

Sumiko Saulson
sumikoska@yahoo.com
Categories: Physical Media, Writing
Sumiko Saulson (Mauskaveli on Fetlife) is a cartoonist, painter, illustrator, and an award-winning author of Afrocentric and multicultural horror, science-fiction and paranormal romance, editor of the Scry of Lust anthologies. Their cartoon Mauskaveli features kinky, queer anthromorphic mice, and they sell clothing with the cartoons on it.
Web sites:
http://www.SumikoSaulson.com
http://www.Mauskaveli.com
https://www.deviantart.com/sumikoska
Book Release Party:
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2022, 7 – 9 PM
The Artist:


Work Samples:

 
SlackulaResurrection joepetricomauskaveli

Serge Gay Jr.
thesergeshop@gmail.com
Categories:  Artist / Painter
Painter and Designer
Web sites:
www.sergeshop.com/
www.instagram.com/sergegayjr
sergegayjr.com
Work Samples:

Simon Malvaez
simonmalvaez@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media, Digital Media, Making Clothes
Murals, Paper cutting pieces, Shibari / rope bondage, clothing, Blankets, etc.
Web site:  simonmalvaez.com/
Artist:


Work Samples:

Tanya Wischerath
tanyatattoosyou@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media
I do woodcut printmaking, and traditional realist oil painting and mural work, all primarally figurative and focused on queer figures, both locally familiar and historically renowned. My portraits run the gamut between literal and allegorical depictions of the subjects, but are always done with the aim of expressing admiration.
Web site::  tanyawischerath.com
Artist:

Work Samples:

Diego Gomez
designnurd@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media, Digital Media, Performance, Clothing, Gear, Writing, Teaching, Curating
I create work around fashion, social justice & super heroes through a hard-femme/soft-butch lens. I teach fashion history & illustration @CCSF, paint murals, and do graphic design.  I wrote / drew the books: 1963 is Not an End but a Beginning, Hell Babes, and The Hard Femme EX-MEN,  and art directed Daddy Issues magazine.
Web sites:  Instagram.com/designnurd, etsy.com/shop/DesignNurd , sites.google.com/view/designnurd/
Gallery:  425 Hyde Street, San Francisco CA 94109
Artist:

Work Samples:

Jonesy (Erika Jones)
artjunkeesf@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media, Making, Writing
I create art of many forms. I paint, use mixed media, write poetry, make sculptures and create puppets/sock puppets.
Web site:  Instagram.com/jonesy_sf, artjunkee.org
Gallery: RHL Studios (2398 Jerrold Ave. San Francisco)
Artist:

Work Samples:

Marnika Shelton
nikacherrelles@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media,  Making Gear
Marnika Shelton is a classically trained artist specializing in figurative ceramics and portraiture. Her work is designed to engage the viewer in conversations that challenge socially and culturally normative viewpoints. She is also the owner of Nika Cherelle’s LLC and the host of The ‘It’ Cast’s Real Talk on sex.
Web sites: Marnikashelton.com, TriggerHappyToy.com, NIkaCherrelles.com, @nikacherrelle
Artist:

Work Samples:

Angel Angeles
 ariesiamproduction@gmail.com
Categories:  Physical Media, Digital Media
Collection of Queer BDSM Fashion Photography or Art.
Web sites:  https://linktr.ee/AriesIAm
Artist:

Angel Angeles
Work Samples:

Jason Wyman
jason@queerlycomplex.com
Categories:  Digital Media, Performance, Writing, Social Practice Installation
Web sites:  https://www.queerlycomplex.com/
Jason Wyman is an Anti-Binary Queer Artist conjuring Cosmic Mysteries through introspection & engagement, inquiry & deep listening, divination & revelation so that Queerdos & their comrades everywhere can affirm, celebrate, and honor our fabulously unique role within the cosmos as artists, mystics, healers, and caretakers.
Artist:


Work Samples:

ES Kavana (Eanna Sarah)
 eanna.sarah@gmail.com
Categories:  Performance
I create charcoal drawings of live nudes, celebrating the inherent perfection of the human body for the sole purpose and pleasure of person who inhabits it. I am passionate about using my artistic vision for activism – promoting for all human beings that are currently marginalized due to their gender and sexual identity.
Web sites:  ES Kavana on Instagram, ES Kavana on Art Storefronts
Artist:

B. Gamut (they/them)
bags.q88@gmail.com
Categories: Physical Media ,Digital Media, Writing
B. Gamut is a multidisciplinary artist tending to tiny transformations. Growing up in the South of Market, they aim to merge writing and visual art that honors beings across time and space who shape the city. Through pieces including printmaking and poetry, they question and remember the meaning of home.
Website:  https://www.instagram.com/brrgamut/
Artist:


Work Samples: