#brian weil

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Brian Weil (American, 1954-1996), Untitled (Hasidim), c. 1985, printed 1992.

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Brian Weil Voodoo Drug [an assortment of bottles] 1988 Gelatin silver print

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Brian Weil Spirit Medium, Harare, Zimbabwe [man sitting on floor of dwelling, overexposed],1990 - gelatin silver print

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Brain Weil

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Brian Weil

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It’s tantalizing to think of the myriad of artists that rival the greats, but for whatever reason, never rose to the same level of prominence. Chicago-born Brian Weil is one such artist. A contemporary of Nan Goldin and Larry Clark, Weil’s lens captured the world with that emblematic grittiness and subcultural focus, but amplified to the brink of horror, the outermost edge of reality that borders on a nightmare. 

Known mostly for his international coverage of the AIDS epidemic and subsequent founding of New York’s first needle exchange program, Weil actively sought out extremity, shadowing police officers in Miami on their visits to murder sites, integrating himself among the hasidim, delving into fetishistic sexual underworlds, and photographing the transgender community. His retrospective Being in the World 1979-95 at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, on view until April 18, highlights the essential works from each of Weil’s immersions. His images are not for the faint of heart. They are daguerrotypes of death: distorted snapshots of isolation, flashes of tragedy in the voids of blackness. Weil’s practice of scratching his film adds to the gnashing sense of despair, and his chiaroscuro style recalls a modern Goya, but instead of depicting Saturn and other mythological beasts, Weil turns to the pit of reality for a sobering reflection of the human condition.

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Brian Weil  Excited about his posthumous upcoming show at the ICA Philadelphia opening in February.