Market Street Gallery is pleased to present Heroes with Bling an exhibit to celebrate the sparkling diamonds of the San Francisco queer
community. This exhibition will showcase Mosaic Arts International 2011’s Member’s choice Award winning artist, Michael J. Kruzich, published Photographer, Art Director & Stylist, Jose A Guzman Colon, and acclaimed Photographer, Marianne Larochelle. The exhibit will open June 7, 2011, and run through June 29, 2011. Market Street Gallery will be hosting a Heroes with Bling Gay Pride kick-off event on Thursday, June 23rd, 2011, from 6 PM – 8 PM.Drag queens or drag personalities, we love them all! They are bigger than life! They are bubbly (and a lot of the time, they drink bubbly)! They project an intense amount of positive energy inspiring everyone to smile from ear-to-ear and happily wave right back at them! Drag queens are the sparkling diamonds of the queer community’s tiara; the shine, the light, the energetic force which makes all queer events super special. They do so much for the queer community, Market Street Gallery created this exhibition to celebrate them! This exhibition is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our “Heroes with Bling” during the entire month of June, Pride 2011. MORE PICS AFTER JUMPPhotography By Jose A Guzman Colon
“I remember the first time I picked up a camera at about 16 years of age and how excited I was to capture images of natural and strange objects floating up onto the shores of Cape May, NJ. I have to say it is one of my fondest memories. After a few years of traveling and allowing life to happen I forgot all about my love for the camera. It was not until many years later that I partnered with the fantastic photographer Marianne Larochelle. I served as Art Director & Stylist on our Glam Gender table book and began to see that I was falling back in love with taking photos. I guess you can say it was a major leap of faith along with a new found teacher and master of photography that got me back on track. I have tremendous love for my community here in San Francisco and with that love I have had many doors open for me. My subjects include famous Drag Personas and sexy men and women from all walks of life. My wish is to inspire the subject, viewer, and of course, myself.”
Artist Statement– Heroes with Bling emphasizes the work of Jose A. Guzman-Colon as he explores and confronts the ideologies of sex, gender, and beauty. Current drag performers have been styled, directed, and photographed by Guzman-Colon as fantastic creatures and characters in timeless vignettes and dramatized scenes. Through these elaborate images, Guzman-Colon pushes the boundaries between the notions of gender and performance by capturing the roles these men and women play in their day to day lives.
