Jerome Caja
Ugly Pageant
1 Nov – 19 Dec 2024
The Upstairs at 39 Walker

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Jerome Caja, Ugly Pageant, Installation view, Bortolami, 2024.

Jerome Caja (b. 1958, Cleveland, OH; d. 1995, San Francisco, CA) was an artist and drag performer based in San Francisco from 1985 to 1995. As a fixture of the queer underground scene and host of myriad parties and pageants amidst the AIDS crisis, Jerome became a recognizable persona known for his irreverent style of drag and outrageous performance antics. Concurrently, Jerome's artwork rose to local prominence through a string of exhibitions at San Francisco art spaces like Art Lick, Force Nordstrom, Paule Anglim, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and SFMoMA.

Jerome's midwestern Catholic school upbringing was foundational to both the physical and representational aspects of his work from the late eighties until his untimely death due to complications from AIDS in 1995. Caja's paintings, intimate in scale and primarily composed in nail polish and glitter on found materials like plastic tip trays or scraps of wood, lace, and other refuse, often resemble Catholic miniatures, icons, or reliquaries, depicting saints and other figures in bawdy, grotesque scenes.

Most recently, Caja's work has been shown in institutional exhibitions including For Dear Life: Art, Medicine, and Disability, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; The Body, the Host: HIV/AIDS and Christianity, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH; and Art After Stonewall, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, and Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York, NY; Patricia & Philip Frost Art Museum, Miami, FL; and Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH. His work is held in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Works

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Hot Coffee

Hot Coffee, 1992

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Birth of Venus in Cleveland

The Birth of Venus in Cleveland, 1988

Installation view of displayed artwork titled St Jerome in Her Cell

St Jerome in Her Cell, 1993

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Toasted White Bread Having A Nice Day

Toasted White Bread Having A Nice Day, 1989

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Zodiac

The Zodiac, 1994

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Rose Bikini

The Rose Bikini, 1990

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Christmas Painting

Christmas Painting, 1994

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Look Ma, No Hands!

Look Ma, No Hands!, 1992

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Gossips

The Gossips, 1992

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Betty in a Bear Trap

Betty in a Bear Trap, 1991

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Headache or The Boo Boo

The Headache or The Boo Boo, 1990

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Untitled (self-portrait container)

Untitled (self-portrait container), 1993

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Bloody Marrys from Heaven

Bloody Marrys from Heaven, 1994

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Virgin at the Hamper

Virgin at the Hamper, 1989

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Connie Krishna

Connie Krishna, 1994

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Door Guardians

Door Guardians, 1994

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Two tunas fighting for a fish

Two tunas fighting for a fish, 1993

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Waitress

The Waitress, 1987

Installation view of displayed artwork titled New Boobies

New Boobies, 1994

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Sunny Side Up Talking About Going Over Easy, to a Hard-Boiled Crowd

Sunny Side Up Talking About Going Over Easy, to a Hard-Boiled Crowd, 1991

Installation view of displayed artwork titled The Songbird

The Songbird, 1992

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Miss Chickie doing The Chicken Trick

Miss Chickie doing The Chicken Trick, 1993

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Bathsheba

Bathsheba, 1987

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Looking at Pretty

Looking at Pretty, 1989

Installation view of displayed artwork titled Virgin Poop

Virgin Poop, 1992