Hannah Traore Gallery is pleased to present African American Homosocial Studies by Quil Lemons at NADA, New York. African American Homosocial Studies continues the themes presented in Quiladelphia—first exhibited at the gallery in 2023—this series features portraits of Quil’s friends, harnessing their erotic spirit, and the men in his family, supporting one another across generations. As two networks of care that are constantly evolving and expanding, Lemons considers how his own relationship with masculinity, queer identity, sexuality, and Black community have foundations in an unconditional, enduring sense of love. He celebrates each of his subjects for their unique interiority—offering and receiving a profound feeling of self acceptance.
While photographing his creative contemporaries and friends, Lemons approaches each portrait—silver gelatin prints and archival pigment prints—like a character study. These individuals share his curiosity for challenging mainstream depictions of queerness, aspiring together—as photographer and model—to construct more complex representations of fluid bodies and queer psyches. Through each work, Lemons encourages his friends to own their kink, strive for romantic love, and pursue an unrestrained, bold sense of desire and sensuality that they may not have an outlet for in everyday life.
When Lemons first exhibited Quiladelphia, he was overwhelmed by his family’s encouragement, both for his artistic practice and sexual expression. It is through the devoted presence of his father figures—biological, step, and godfather—brothers, and uncles that he was able to explore masculinity in a way that was authentic to himself. In each group portrait—all color archival pigment prints—he emphasizes how his relatives look out for one another, create their sense of self, and act as allies of his own work and identity. Within the Black community where he grew up in Philadelphia—raised in a household with Muslim and Christian faith—Lemons is determined to present a vision of Black masculinity based on radical acceptance and collective healing.
Hannah Traore Gallery is pleased to present African American Homosocial Studies by Quil Lemons at NADA, New York. African American Homosocial Studies continues the themes presented in Quiladelphia—first exhibited at the gallery in 2023—this series features portraits of Quil’s friends, harnessing their erotic spirit, and the men in his family, supporting one another across generations. As two networks of care that are constantly evolving and expanding, Lemons considers how his own relationship with masculinity, queer identity, sexuality, and Black community have foundations in an unconditional, enduring sense of love. He celebrates each of his subjects for their unique interiority—offering and receiving a profound feeling of self acceptance.
While photographing his creative contemporaries and friends, Lemons approaches each portrait—silver gelatin prints and archival pigment prints—like a character study. These individuals share his curiosity for challenging mainstream depictions of queerness, aspiring together—as photographer and model—to construct more complex representations of fluid bodies and queer psyches. Through each work, Lemons encourages his friends to own their kink, strive for romantic love, and pursue an unrestrained, bold sense of desire and sensuality that they may not have an outlet for in everyday life.
When Lemons first exhibited Quiladelphia, he was overwhelmed by his family’s encouragement, both for his artistic practice and sexual expression. It is through the devoted presence of his father figures—biological, step, and godfather—brothers, and uncles that he was able to explore masculinity in a way that was authentic to himself. In each group portrait—all color archival pigment prints—he emphasizes how his relatives look out for one another, create their sense of self, and act as allies of his own work and identity. Within the Black community where he grew up in Philadelphia—raised in a household with Muslim and Christian faith—Lemons is determined to present a vision of Black masculinity based on radical acceptance and collective healing.
