Like Queerguru’s own Editor, CARL HOPGOOD, is a dispaced Brit. He studied at the (legendary) Goldsmiths College in London, and after two solo shows in Mayfair, he ended up in LA inspired by David Hockney’s and his (very homoerotic) A Bigger Splash. It’s a long way from his birthplace in Wales but it gave Hopgood a sense of freedom in both his art and life. He used his experiences and his politics as a queer man to influence his art and highlight social issues through his sculptural pieces that incorporate found objects and neon, all inspired by memories and everyday life. 

One piece demonstrating this is “Just Say Gay,” which grabbed our attention and we knew we needed to know more. Just back from Art Basel Miami Beach where he showed  “Ban Guns Not Books,” a sculpture made from school desks, a neon gun, and neon books, and he is now working on a series of empty chair paintings (“Old empty chairs are not empty in reality, memories always sit there,” he explains). 

Plus filmmaker Kate Rees Davies is finishing a FRAGILE WORLD documentary about his life that releases in 2024. Some of Hopgood’s art can be seen at The Bunker Art Space in LA as part of the prestigious private collection of Beth Rudin Woody and we got to know more of (the charming) Hopgood when we talked to him on Zoom.