The Tom of Finland Art & Culture Fest is all about community

STUART SANDFORD, Adlocutio (Sean Ford), 2022

Bringing its Art and Culture Festival to London for the first time, Tom of Finland Foundation is putting the spotlight on the world’s biggest names in Queer art.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a Queer person (let alone a Queer creative) that isn’t prepared to cite Tom of Finland’s bulging Adonises as some form of inspiration. Born in Kaarina, Finland in 1920, Tom of Finland’s iconic name would first be used in 1957 when his work was published in magazines such as Physique Pictorial. Depicting Gay men as strong, confident, and unashamed in their sexual exploits was in stark contrast to the effeminate and feeble portrayals at the time. Having celebrated his centenary in 2020, his legacy lives on thanks to Durk Dehner, a friend and lover of Tom’s who co-founded Tom of Finland Foundation. On a mission to position Tom’s work at the height of the art and fashion world, the Foundation has exhibited its archive all over the world and has recently collaborated with brands like JW Anderson and Diesel. Now the Foundation is looking to do the same for the next generation of queer artists with its 27th Art & Culture Festival – Tom Unites.

TOM OF FINLAND, Untitled (from Sex in the Shed), 1975, #75.68

Upping the ante from its previous outings, this year the event will span the globe for the first time being held simultaneously in Los Angeles and London. Bringing together established and emerging Queer erotic artists, as well as galleries and patrons the Festival will take place at Second Home Hollywood and its London outpost Second Home Spitalfields. Dehner himself has travelled from his home of sunny Los Angeles to inaugurate the first international foray of the Festival this upcoming weekend. “Our festival is uninhibited and comfortable – like our very natures. Collecting art is the ultimate ‘thank you’ to artists and the most genuine way of expressing yourself to friends”, explains Dehner. Ahead of the weekend’s festivities, we spoke to some of the most exciting names in Queer art and friends of the Foundation about the upcoming fest and Tom of Finland’s enduring legacy.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY JOSHUA GRAHAM

Published: 5th October 2022

Categorised in: Events, News