Fire Island is far more than a beach just outside New York City. For almost a century, the narrow barrier island has served as a sanctuary, a place of longing and a creative universe for generations of artists, photographers and queer creatives from around the world. With 'Fire Island Art: 100 Years', a comprehensive new volume now documents the visual history of this extraordinary place.
Edited by John Dempsey, the book traces Fire Island's artistic legacy from the 1930s to the present day, bringing together iconic works alongside rarely seen archival material. Featured artists include Richard Avedon, Paul Cadmus, David Hockney, Peter Hujar, Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol, while also shining a light on lesser-known historical figures and a new generation of contemporary artists such as TM Davy, Nicole Eisenman, Lyle Ashton Harris, Doron Langberg and Salman Toor, whose work has helped shape Fire Island's artistic renaissance over the past fifteen years.
Spanning more than 300 pages, 'Fire Island Art: 100 Years' combines photographs, artworks and historical documents with essays by leading writers and interviews with Lola Flash, Pamela Sneed and Wolfgang Tillmans. The publication also includes historical texts such as Frank O'Hara's poem A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island and excerpts from Andy Warhol's legendary Diaries.
The Berlin launch takes place on 24 July 2026 at 6:30 pm at BETWEEN BRIDGES Ursuppe. Editor John Dempsey and artist AA Bronson will discuss Fire Island as a place of artistic production, cultural history and queer identity. Timed to coincide with Berlin's Christopher Street Day weekend, the event also marks the closing weekend of the current Jochen Klein exhibition, which will remain open throughout the evening.
Published by The Monacelli Press (304 pages, hardcover), 'Fire Island Art: 100 Years' is set to become an essential reference on one of the most influential places in the history of queer art and photography.
Adalbertstraße 43, 10179 Berlin
Entrance via Adalbertstraße 44