the art of AIDS

Rene Capone

Now based in San Francisco, Rene Capone grew up in upstate New York and began making art at a very young age. As he notes: "I loved it for the way it made me feel, and for the moment other children would look over my shoulder to see what I was making. It was later in life that I realized the full potential of creating art; the realization that expression was freedom. Art was a place where one could say, do, or believe in one’s own way."

The adjacent images represent a selection of Rene's work, and capture some of the themes that continue to inspire him: sex, loneliness, betrayal, and the wonder of curiosity. The spectre of AIDS and the challenges of living with HIV as a young man is ever-present in his work, but only obliquely. Larger images of the paintings and details of their origin can be accessed by clicking on each image and allowing the cursor to hover over it.