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The Arts Intel Report

Catherine Opie: Genre/Gender/Portraiture

Catherine Opie, Idexa, 1993.

July 11 – Oct 27, 2024

Recognized for her quintessentially American portraits, the photographer Catherine Opie knows how to pack a political punch. “I wanted to push the whole realm of beauty and elegance,” she’s said of one of her exhibitions, “but also to make people scared out of their wits.” Some of Opie’s most famous photographs document the dark side of West Coast queer culture, and she does not shy away from leather, chains, and S&M. This exhibition in São Paulo attempts to unpack the meaning of the Portuguese word genero, which translates to both the words “gender” and “genre.” —Elena Clavarino

Photo courtesy the artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles; Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, London and Seoul; Thomas Dane Gallery, London and Naples