Salman Toor's Stories of Queer People, and Intimacy and Loneliness
Salman Toor's solo exhibition "Someone Like You" at London's Courtauld Gallery features 19 paintings depicting intimacy and loneliness among queer people.Summary
New York-based Pakistani artist Salman Toor's solo exhibition "Someone Like You" is on view at the Courtauld Gallery in London. Housed in Somerset House and home to masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, the Courtauld provides an ideal setting for Toor's work, which bridges contemporary art and Old Masters. The exhibition brings together 19 paintings in two small rooms, the earliest dating from 2019. According to senior curator Elena Crippa, 2019 marked a period when Toor began expressing his sexuality and personal experiences more freely, having previously addressed them indirectly. Growing up in Pakistan, where homosexuality is legally restricted and social prejudice remains strong, Toor found his community in New York. "The Bar on East 13th" (2019) references Manet's "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère," but unlike Manet's melancholic barmaid, Toor's bartender gazes directly at the viewer. "Ghost Ball" (2023) gathers beloved characters in a festive scene, while works like "Parts and Things" (2019) and "Museum Boys" (2021) explore hidden desires and memories through what Toor calls a "fag puddle." The newly created "Fag Puddle With Carriers" (2026) quotes Lorenzo Lotto's "Burial" in the Courtauld's collection, inviting viewers on a treasure hunt through the museum. Toor's paintings also touch on how we consume human struggle, persecution, and conflict through social media, with his running figures seemingly fleeing an impending sense of doom.
(Source：美術手帖)