Edited by Nadine Barth, Katharina Mouratidi. Text by Lynn Breedlove, Catherine Opie, Anna Joy Springer.
A tender, joyous portrait of the thriving lesbian subculture in ’90s San Francisco
In the 1990s, queer youth, outcasts and artists flocked to San Francisco to experiment with art, self-expression, style and gender and to find community. Rent was affordable, paving the way for queer bars, clubs, tattoo shops, galleries, cafés, bookstores and women-owned businesses to emerge. A new wave of feminism embraced gender fluidity, and butch/femme culture flourished. The Mission district was the center of this queer cultural renaissance, and the feeling of community there was palpable. Chloe Sherman was both a member of this community and an ardent visual chronicler. Her documentary photographic work on 35mm film stems from a commitment to capturing the vibrancy, tenderness, individuality, resilience and joy within this subculture that was derided by mainstream society. Distilling the spirit of the time, her debut monograph is a candid portrait of a vibrant era that connects current and future generations to the pulse of San Francisco at a pivotal chapter in queer history. Chloe Sherman (born 1969) arrived in San Francisco in 1991 and earned her BFA in Photography at the San Francisco Art Institute. Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured in magazines such as Rolling Stone and Interview.
Featured image is from 'Chloe Sherman: Renegades.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
AnOther
Madeleine Pollard
Sherman combined her appreciation of formal art with a raw documentary style, capturing the swirl of street and nightlife with a careful eye to composition, colour, and the flow of movement across the frame.
Musée
Max Wiener
Chloe Sherman offers a deliciously raw look into one of the most turbulent periods for the city's queer community, which was vibrant not only in America but also globally.
KQED
Rae Alexandra
Sherman’s colorful, intimate, impulsive and affectionate photos speak loudly for the wild, untethered souls in them, as well as the era they were living through.
New Yorker
Crispin Long
Renegades’ captures the vibrant chaos of a bygone era, where every corner held a story, and every gathering defied convention.
Harper's Bazaar France
Each of these photos possesses a certain fascinating, hard-to-define almost religious mystery which gives those who look at them a direct route into an era of freedom, an era of joy.
San Francisco Chronicle
Brandon Yu
While queer history often gets erased from mainstream memory, “Renegades” stands as a monument to this vanguard in the Mission that was figuring out the progressive politics that many now take for granted.
CNN: Style
Suyin Haynes
The images in “Renegades” depict youth, joy and the era’s rebellious aesthetic, whether in raucous nights out, intense and intimate moments between couples or seemingly-spontaneous glances at the camera.
The New York Times: T List
Carla Valdivia Nakatani
Sherman affectionately documents a pivotal moment in recent queer history, during which creativity thrived outside of the mainstream.
STATUS: Out of stock
Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory.
Saturday, December 7 at 3 PM, Artbook at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles Bookstore presents a book signing event celebrating Renegades San Francisco: The 1990s with photographer Chloe Sherman in conversation with writer and activist Michelle Tea. Book signing to follow. RSVP and order a signed copy here. continue to blog
Thursday, March 7, from 6–8 PM, Rizzoli Bookstore presents photographer Chloe Sherman in conversation with New Yorker digital photo editor Noelle Flores Théard about Sherman's new monograph Renegades: San Francisco, The 1990s, a tender, joyous portrait of the thriving lesbian subculture in 1990s San Francisco, published by Hatje Cantz. RSVPs are encouraged. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 PM. Can't attend? Order your signed copy here! continue to blog
Featured images are from Chloe Sherman: Renegades, the rising-star photographer’s deep yet exuberant insider’s portrait of the young lesbian subculture of 1990s San Francisco. “The images sequenced in this book are monumental in terms of the times they represent,” Catherine Opie writes. “The queer community in the nineties was vital for the politics of inclusion and exploration, and these images celebrate that era. More importantly, they convey a history that was lived, in intimate images of both public and private moments within that community. This is important work within the history of creating representations of the times we live in. Chloe Sherman understands the notion of bearing witness in the most tender of ways, so that the images in Renegades allow me to relive a precious time in my own life.” continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 10.25 x 11 in. / 128 pgs / 90 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $50.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $72.5 ISBN: 9783775755177 PUBLISHER: Hatje Cantz AVAILABLE: 9/19/2023 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: Out of stock TERRITORY: NA LA
Published by Hatje Cantz. Edited by Nadine Barth, Katharina Mouratidi. Text by Lynn Breedlove, Catherine Opie, Anna Joy Springer.
A tender, joyous portrait of the thriving lesbian subculture in ’90s San Francisco
In the 1990s, queer youth, outcasts and artists flocked to San Francisco to experiment with art, self-expression, style and gender and to find community. Rent was affordable, paving the way for queer bars, clubs, tattoo shops, galleries, cafés, bookstores and women-owned businesses to emerge. A new wave of feminism embraced gender fluidity, and butch/femme culture flourished. The Mission district was the center of this queer cultural renaissance, and the feeling of community there was palpable.
Chloe Sherman was both a member of this community and an ardent visual chronicler. Her documentary photographic work on 35mm film stems from a commitment to capturing the vibrancy, tenderness, individuality, resilience and joy within this subculture that was derided by mainstream society. Distilling the spirit of the time, her debut monograph is a candid portrait of a vibrant era that connects current and future generations to the pulse of San Francisco at a pivotal chapter in queer history.
Chloe Sherman (born 1969) arrived in San Francisco in 1991 and earned her BFA in Photography at the San Francisco Art Institute. Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured in magazines such as Rolling Stone and Interview.
