A gay man working in 1980s New York, American painter Patrick Angus (1953–92) is currently being rediscovered and celebrated internationally. The stark drama of his explicit themes, the exactitude of his observations juxtaposed against the iridescence of his coloration. New York’s ‘80s gay demimonde is the abiding subject of these paintings, which also more broadly reflect a longing for love, friendship and acceptance. Angus worked at a time when minimalism and abstraction were the dominant styles and figuration was disdained as reactionary; now it is clear he was more inventive than most of his peers, and can be seen as a leading postmodernist. Painting was the passion of Patrick Angus’ short life. A victim of the AIDS plague, his hope was that his work would survive him. This posthumous homage to a great artist grants his wish, ensuring his place in the pantheon.
