Leigh Bowery! – Tate Modern, London
The first major retrospective of the iconic and unapologetically queer Australian multi-disciplinary artist Leigh Bowery is currently on show at Tate Modern. Having left Melbourne for the UK in 1980 at the age of 19, Bowery quickly established himself as the enfant terrible of London’s alternative cultural and club scene.
I first came across Bowery as a teenager in the mid-80s while flicking through the pages of The Face magazine. An article about him and his fellow club kids left a lasting impression on me, and he’s undoubtedly influenced my own practice ever since. A true visionary, Bowery blurred the lines between fashion, performance, and visual art. His work encompassed outrageous makeup and costume, experimental dance, music, and shocking stage shows.
Before his untimely death in 1994 from AIDS-related complications, he became a muse to Lucian Freud, posing for some of the artist’s most powerful late portraits. Bowery was an original in every sense—challenging conventions of gender, sexuality, and society. His influence is still felt today in everything from drag culture to the work of Rick Owens, Lady Gaga, Charles Atlas, and Stephen Willats.
Until 31st August 2025, Tate Modern, London
The Holly Johnson Story – Museum of Liverpool
If you’re in Liverpool this month, don’t miss The Holly Johnson Story—a vibrant tribute to the life and career of the former Frankie Goes to Hollywood frontman. From chart-topping success to solo artistry and outspoken HIV/AIDS activism, this exhibition charts a rich and emotional journey.
A dedicated section showcases Holly’s colourful Pop Art-style paintings, including one striking portrait of his Scottish nurse Alan in drag, named by Holly himself as Miss Highland Spring. Created after a hospital stay for HIV treatment, the painting stands out as both humorous and deeply personal.
“This exhibition charts Holly’s early personal life and career, from a young musician to an internationally renowned, openly gay star, living in the public eye...”
— Museum of Liverpool
Through themes of glamour, stigma, liberation, and loss, The Holly Johnson Story captures a defining era in LGBTQ+ history and celebrates a cultural icon who lived it all publicly.
Until 27th July 2025, Museum of Liverpool
Caspar Heinemann: Sod All – Studio Voltaire, London
Caspar Heinemann’s latest solo exhibition, Sod All, is a poetic, punk-tinged exploration of queer identity and countercultural histories. The title riffs on the word “sod” with all its layered meanings—from earth and homeland to derogatory slur and unlucky soul.
The show is a beautifully raw collection of sculptural assemblages and folk-inspired pieces, made with rope, wood, paper and found objects. Heinemann channels queer spirituality, land politics, and alternative mythologies with a distinctly hand-made aesthetic that feels both intimate and rebellious.
“Though employing a makeshift appearance, their precarious nature derives from the artist’s longstanding and personal engagement with folk revival, politics of land, mythology and spiritual histories.”
— Studio Voltaire
Until 3rd August 2025, Studio Voltaire, London
Marge Bradshaw: Level Playing Field: Stories from Liverpool Trans & Enby FC – Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead
In 2024, photographer Marge Bradshaw spent time with Liverpool Trans and Enby FC, documenting the lives and experiences of players in one of the UK’s most inclusive football clubs. The result is a powerful and urgent exhibition that brings visibility to trans and non-binary athletes.
“At a time when trans people face increasing hostility and discrimination, it feels more urgent than ever to create space for their stories to be seen and heard.”
— Marge Bradshaw
The exhibition took on even more resonance when, shortly after its opening, the Supreme Court ruled that legal recognition of womanhood must be based solely on sex assigned at birth. In response, the FA announced that, from 1 June, transgender women would no longer be permitted to play in women’s football.
This context makes Level Playing Field not just timely, but vital.
Until 28th June 2025, Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead
Jonathon Baldock: 0.1% – London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE
Set within the atmospheric ruins of a Roman temple, 0.1% by Jonathon Baldock offers a radical reimagining of this ancient male-only sanctuary. At its centre stands a towering goddess-like figure, flipping the patriarchal script on its head.
Baldock weaves queer narratives and matriarchal energy into clay, sackcloth, wood, and metal, crafting an immersive experience that feels part shrine, part dreamscape. Themes of ancestry, chosen family, folklore and ritual saturate the space, inviting both reflection and reverence.
Until 5th July 2025, London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE
Andrew Salgado: Self-Portrait As A Stack of Books – Beers London
I first encountered Andrew Salgado’s work around ten years ago on Instagram. His emotionally charged, hyper-colourful paintings immediately captivated me—and still do.
In 2008, Salgado survived a brutal homophobic attack. That experience catalysed a fierce artistic drive to confront prejudice and reclaim power through beauty. While his tone may have softened over time, his portraits remain unapologetically bold and deeply human.
In this latest series, Salgado draws inspiration from literature, layering visual storytelling with textual influence.
“An avid reader, he credits various authors (Atwood, Borges, Daumal, Mantel, Nabokov, Schulz, Woolf, and Zweig) as major influences.”
— Beers London
Each painting in Self-Portrait As A Stack of Books is like a chapter of lived experience, layered with memory, language, and resilience.
Until 28th June 2025, Beers London
Artist at Large: Michael Tierney
ABOUT THE ARTIST: British artist Michael Tierney stands out for his fantastical mixed-media paintings which conceptualise the chaotic and multi-layered aspects of contemporary culture that often leave us over-stimulated and disorientated. A blend of Street Art, Pop Art and Vanitas, his colourful menageries sizzle with characters, creatures and colours plucked from the artist’s imagination.
Tierney is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Tierney states: “My paintings are a reminder to celebrate and enjoy all our differences in a world where the noise and chaos of the constant bombardment from rolling news and social media commentary plays havoc with our mental health and well-being.”