In June 1981, CDC first acknowledged AIDS. To mark the 40th Anniversary, David Zwirner Gallery will hold a series of solo exhibitions, beginning on June 24 in New York. Titled “More Life,” through male gay perspectives, this series explores the affective, aesthetic, personal, and political responses to the crisis, as well as looks at artists who died of this epidemic in the first 20 years, and who are often neglected in broader art-historical and cultural narratives.

From June 24 to August 6, four exhibitions will be open at David Zwirner’s locations in New York. At the 19th Street location, the exhibition features an experimental film Tongues Untied (1989) by Marlon Riggs, a seminal film Blue (1993) by Derek Jarman, and paintings by Jarman. 

Worth mentioning, the gallery will take a focused look at the Silence=Death Collective, which created some of the most iconic images of political art in US history. Mainly drawn from the collection of Avram Finkelstein, a founding member of Silence=Death, the collection, contextualizing the birth of AIDS activism, presents three original posters, alongside other early AIDS activist imagery and agitprop. Also, a limited-edition Silence=Death print will be available, with proceeds benefiting Visual AIDS.

At the East 69th Street location, curated by Ryan McGinley, a selection of Mark Morrisroe (1959–1989) photographs will be presented. Within his short life, Morrisroe produced a body of work that examined queer kinship, the performance of gender, and the intimacy of risk while experimenting formally with his chosen Polaroid medium.

In September, The More Life series will continue with three exhibitions at David Zwirner’s New York galleries, including solo exhibitions for Ching Ho Cheng, curated by Simon Wu; Frank Moore, curated by Hilton Als; Jesse Murry (1948–1993), curated by Jarrett Earnest and Lisa Yuskavage.

In London, David Zwirner Gallery will present an exhibition of works by Hugh Steers (1962–1995), curated by the actor, writer, and Talk Art podcast cohost Russell Tovey. To accompany this group of exhibitions, the gallery will present a series of conversations and videos with Gregg Bordowitz, Avram Finkelstein, Ted Kerr, Sarah Schulman, Pamela Sneed, Tilda Swinton, and Wolfgang Tillmans, among others.