Jimmy DeSana

Bio: Art Brokerage: Jimmy DeSana American Artist: b. 1949-1990. Jimmy DeSana, who was Born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia; was a leading figure in the East Village punk art scene in the 1970s and 80s; along with artist-photographers Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Laurie Simmons. He began taking nude photographs of his friends and acquaintances in his teens. His photography has been described as anti-art in its approach to capturing images of the human body, ranging from savagely explicit to purely symbolic. His art is described as surreal sexuality that explored the body as object. Using unconventional processes and techniques, including negative prints, double exposures, and luridly colored lighting; DeSana photographed psychological portraits, sexually charged tableaux, and still lifes. Despite his reluctance, or inability, to settle on a consistent approach, his central subject was always himself, and especially his sexual and emotional identity. During his lifetime, DeSana had over a dozen solo shows: Pat Hearn Gallery, Galerie Jablonka, and elsewhere. He was featured in over fifty group shows, including the seminal 1981 P.S.1 exhibition New York/New Wave. In recent years his work has been shown at Salon 94, the New Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, White Columns and Pioneer Works. DeSana died in 1990 from AIDS related illness Listings wanted.