Wendy Olsoff and Penny Pilkington, 1985. Photo by Tom Warren.
P·P·O·W. gallery began representing David Wojnarowicz in 1988 at the height of the AIDS crisis.
Wendy Olsoff and Penny Pilkington founded P·P·O·W in the East Village in Fall of 1983 and were known for showing artists who deal with political issues in their work like Sue Coe, Carrie Mae Weems, and Nancy Spero.
Olsoff explains, “We were all earnestly doing everything we could when we were pretty young, in a very dire time. I think there’s no way of really appreciating what the AIDS crisis was like for someone who didn’t live it.”
In 1989, P·P·O·W mounted David’s solo show “In the Shadow of Forward Motion” which the gallery described as “an exhibition of paintings, photography, and sculpture …[examining] the invented structures which pre-determine our daily existence.” In 1990, the gallery exhibited David’s last two solo shows: “In the Garden” and “The Lazaretto: An Installation about the Current Status of the AIDS Crisis.” The gallery continues to represent the Estate of David Wojnarowicz today.
Wendy Olsoff shares memories in the audio clips below.
Interview excerpts appear courtesy of The Artist Archives Initiative’s David Wojnarowicz Knowledge Base.
