Hal Bromm
90 West Broadway, 2nd floor 
New York, NY, 10007
+1 212-732-6196

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All Artists

Luis Frangella
b. 1988


Luis Frangella (1944-1990) was a figurative, postmodern painter and sculptor. He earned a masters in architecture at the University of Buenos Aires in 1972 and then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973. In 1976, he moved to New York City where he painted huge “street” murals on construction site walls, abandoned Hudson River piers, and in the nightclubs of the East Village and Tribeca. Situated in these nontraditional spaces, he began working with subversive artists like Wojnarowicz. Luis was a sort of father figure to many younger artists, becoming an influential member of the East Village art scene. Known as a good cook, he fostered a sense of community and caring, often serving impromptu meals in his loft after the late-night club scene was winding down. Writing in Art Forum (1985), John Howell proclaimed, “Luis Frangella is a classic junk artist. That is, he grafts the essence of classic art themes and techniques onto an anthology of urban debris used as support materials, thereby updating the past and historicizing the present.” At the height of the AIDS epidemic Frangella was diagnosed with the disease and played an integral role in the ACT UP movement. Ostracized by his sexuality and state of health, Frangella embraced the marginalization he faced, applying it to their art and activism. Seriously incapacitated by his illness, Frangella was unable to remain involved for long, dying in 1990 at the age of 46. 


Exhibition History:

Paintings
New Talent
Climbing
New Painting

Figure!
New Sculpture
Brain Damage Paintings
Home Sweet Home

Major Works
Untitled
Vintage East Village
30
Black & White
30
Insecure
40: The Anniversary Exhibition
Snowjob
Paintings From the 1980‘s
Metamorphosis
Luis Frangella & Russell Sharon: A Life in Art
FACES I

1983
1983
1984
1985
1985
1985
1985
1986
1986
1987
2005
2006
2008
2014
2016
2019
2019 
2021
2022
2022


Press:

March 12, 2024The Firm and the Yielding: The Art and Life of Luis Frangella
Visual AIDS

December 19, 2022Art and the Human Face
Office Magazine

June 2019Art in Honor of Stonewall's 50th Anniversary
The Tribeca Trib

November 28, 2018Episode 149: Preserving Art Legacies After Loss
Open to Hope

September 2018Luis Frangella and David Wojnarowicz at Hal Bromm Gallery
The Tribeca Trib

April 2017Mark Bloch on “Exuberant 80s: An East Village Painters Circle” at Johannes Vogt Gallery
Whitehot Magazine

February 7, 2013Tribeca’s Best Lobby Art
Tribeca Citizen

April 1985
Springtime on the Fringe
Arts Magazine

April 1984
“Climbing”
ArtForum

Now on view:

Lucio Pozzi
Cornucopia: the Bielefeld Watercolors


Through May 10, 2025
Upcoming:
May 22 - The Queer Show Part II
Opening Reception 6-8 pm
@ Hal Bromm Gallery

September 19 - 50: The View From Tribeca
Opening Reception 6-8 pm
@  Hal Bromm Gallery