Themes

Besides tracing Louis Fulgoni’s creative output chronologically in the context of his personal journey, this exhibition can also be viewed thematically in a series of distinct (but often overlapping) categories. These themes place Louis’s work in the social and political context of his life and times.

Sexually liberated

Louis’s collages, in particular, reflect a celebration of sexual revolution and gay liberation that prevailed in the 1970s, when he made most of these pieces.

Homoerotic

Related to the celebration of sexual liberation but distinct from it, much of Louis’s work – notably his drawings and prints, as well as some paintings – struck strong homoerotic notes celebrating the male body. 

Anti-corporate

Louis only infrequently used his art to comment on social issues explicitly. Still, disdain for raw corporate power came through in quite a few of his pieces, including many of the collages as well as prints and masks depicting caricatures of corporate blowhards.

Political

Louis was highly opinionated at the left end of the political spectrum, and he used his skills as a graphic artist and illustrator in the service of activist organizations working for gay and lesbian rights and housing justice in New York. While his fine art did not often focus on specific causes or political figures, these themes did appear on occasion over the years.

Spiritual

In the 1980s, Louis took a strong interest in Tantric art, which led him to create dozens of monoprints and some paintings depicting yantras, the traditional diagrams used to aid meditation in Eastern religions. This might be considered surprising for an artist who had so emphatically rejected organized religion – specifically, the Roman-Catholic Church of his youth. However, it reflected a deep sense of spirituality and a certain mysticism that is evident, to varying degrees, in much of his mature work.