San Francisco in the 90s - A journey into queer subculture with Chloe Sherman
From 30 June to 03 September 2023, the exhibition "Renegades: Queer Life in the 1990s" by the artist Chloe Sherman can still be admired at f3, the freiraum für fotografie in Berlin. The impressive photographs were framed in picture frames by HALBE.
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The photographs presented provide a captivating insight into the vibrant life of the people of San Francisco during the 1990s, a decade marked by awakening and change, especially within the queer subculture.
Amidst a vibrant scene of young people, artists and free spirits, a unique identity emerged, formed away from mainstream society. Affordable rents enabled the rise of bars, clubs, art galleries and women-owned businesses that filled the city with life. Here, people could express themselves freely and celebrate otherness in the safety of community.
The photographer was present in person at the opening and shared touching words that she associates with the photographs from this special time:
“San Francisco in the 90s was a pivotal, groundbreaking time and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. I found beauty, grace and bravery in the queer subculture that was creating its own identity away from mainstream society. My photographs document the unique pulse of the city during this time and capture how we celebrated otherness in the safety of our community.”
Chloe Sherman, 2023
About the photographer Chloe Sherman
Chloe Sherman, a native New Yorker, followed her passion for fine art photography in 1991 and moved to San Francisco to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. As a contemporary witness of the cultural upheaval taking place there, the young photographer began to document her own world.
Driven by her passion for art, she seized the opportunity to capture San Francisco's lesbian and queer scene with her camera.
Inspired by photographs from the London lesbian scene, Sherman captured the lives and courage of the femmes, butches, punks and studs who developed their very own rules for social coexistence.
Her photographs became a testament to an evolving community that boldly rebelled against cultural norms and freely explored their gender identities. For several decades, the photographs were forgotten in Sherman's archive. Now, more than 30 years later, the impressive and historically significant photographs are being exhibited publicly outside the USA for the first time.
In the exhibition “RENEGADES. San Francisco: Queer Life in the 1990s”, the pictures are given a stage and impressively show the historical significance of this era.
HALBE picture frames in action
The impressive photographs were framed in black CLASSIC picture frames by HALBE. The black oak strips have a wood 20 profile and are combined with matt/glossy white glass. The simple yet elegant frames ideally set the scene for both the vivid colour photographs and the expressive black and white images.
In many cases, a white window mat was cleverly used. The additional stage created by the white mount highlights the individual photographs and specifically draws the viewer's attention to the fascinating details of the respective photograph.
Images: © Alina Simmelbauer