Getting Religion, 1986.

Lithograph. Edition 16/100.

Editioned, signed, and dated on margin by the artist in black ink, "16-100; Rex; 24-02-2018".

A high-quality lithograph produced for a 2018 retrospective exhibition, 50 Years of Creating Art; The Rex Retrospective. From 2016-2018, lithographs of this style were created from original drawings in support of a series of European gallery exhibitions. These prints were signed and editioned by the artist while he was living and working in Amsterdam.

15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. (40 x 29.8 cm.)

Auctioneer's Note: This item has been re-listed from a previous auction, as a result of non-payment from the winning bidder.

Exhibition History:
Original drawing and artist proof: 50 Years of Creating Art; The Rex Retrospective, SERVICEWERK, Antwerp, Belgium, February 23-25, 2018.

Further Reading:
Bernd E. Althans, ed. Verboten: Rex. Berlin: SERVICEWERK, 2016. “AP 10 Getting Religion”.

Notes:

Rex was an American illustrator whose black-and-white, pen-and-ink drawings presented and codified the visual aesthetic of the gay S&M and leather subcultures during the 1970s and 1980s. Based in San Francisco, Rex’s artwork is defined by depictions of masculine archetypes such as policemen, prison guards, and bikers, often exploring the raw and unapologetic elements of gay male sexuality. Through his art, Rex documented the pre-AIDS cruising culture of dive bars, alleyways, bathhouses, and motels in both New York and San Francisco.

Rex first came to prominence in 1978 with a one-man show at Fey-Way Studios in San Francisco, a gallery opened by Robert Opel to showcase the talent of the city’s gay art scene. His work had a notable impact on photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe. As historian Jack Fritscher recalled, “Rex is to drawing what Mapplethorpe is to photography.” [1] Tellingly, Rex designed the hardcore interior decor of New York’s Mineshaft BDSM club just two years prior to Mapplethorpe’s appointment as its resident photographer.

His unique pointillist style became virtually synonymous with the visual culture of the gay community. He designed postcards, pulp novel covers, and publicity materials for leather stores, sex shops, and gay nightclubs including a notable campaign for the poppers brand BOLT. Most famously, his graphics were featured in the 1980 movie Cruising, starring Al Pacino, and on a T-shirt worn by Freddie Mercury.

[1] Jack Fritscher, “Rex Inventing Rex”, “Rex Requiem: Corrupt Beyond Innocence”, in Inventing the Gay Gaze: Rex, Peter Berlin, Arthur Tress, and Crawford Barton (San Francisco: Palm Drive Publishing, 2025), p. 15.

Excellent condition.

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