The John Burton Harter Foundation presents Sing the Body Electric, an exhibition opening July 12th (6 to 9pm) at UNO Gallery, located at 2429 St. Claude Avenue.
The works featured speak to the various ways that LGBTQ+ people creatively and collectively strive to embody a sense of self that is both liberated and true, focusing on explorations of the Queer body through the lenses of both figuration and abstraction.
“Sherman Asleep” (1981) by J.B. Harter
Sponsored by WWNO and curated by local artist and educator Josiah Gagosian, the exhibition will spotlight creations from a diverse group of contemporary LGBTQ+ artists with ties to New Orleans, including Anthony “BE3K” Badon, BK Durham, Jourdan Barnes, Keith Perelli, Ryan “phlegm” Gilbert, Ryan Leitner, Sydney Calderon, and Vee Adams. The artists will exhibit their work alongside that of the late J. B. Harter, whose images explored and documented gay male culture of the 1970s and beyond.
“Menconopsis, ‘Blue Poppy’” (2025) by Keith Perelli
Over the past several decades, LGBTQ+ people have established themselves as a force for political and cultural change. Through celebration of their bodily experiences; through adornment, beautification, & transformation; through community, caregiving, & advocacy; and through the courageous assertion of bodily autonomy in the face of ignorance and oppression, Queer people have established their right to exist and to love in whatever form they see fit. This exhibition stands as a testament to the ongoing creative collaboration of LGBTQ+ artists with their own bodies, and with the bodies of those in whom they find love and connection.
“Ritual Drama 106” (2023) by Ryan “phlegm” Gilbert
The show will run through August 3rd. Regular gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 12pm-5pm, with extended gallery hours for Sing the Body Electric on Thursdays and Fridays, 5pm-7pm.
An Artist panel discussion is planned for Saturday, July 26th; details for that and other events will be announced on the UNO Gallery website (https://www.unostclaudegallery.org/) and on Instagram @u.n.o_gallery
“Kristin Serves it Forth” (2025) by BK Durham
