David Wojnarowicz (1954-1992)

David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992) was an American artist, writer, and activist whose work spanned painting, photography, film, performance, and literature. Emerging from New York’s East Village art scene in the 1980s, he addressed themes of sexuality, identity, politics, and the AIDS crisis with raw intensity and visual symbolism. Often incorporating found materials, personal narrative, and street imagery, his art challenged social stigma and government inaction around HIV/AIDS. Wojnarowicz’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major museum collections, and he remains a central figure in discussions of art and activism in late 20th-century America.