'In the photograph, “Sonny and David,” two men lie in bed, their backs taking up almost the entire frame, turning bodies into landscape.'
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 22 April 2022
Clifford Prince King documents intimate relationships in domestic and everyday settings, reflecting on his experiences as a Queer Black man, and discovering a space of affirmation and visibility. The artist has described his inspiration as a longing to see images of ‘Black Queer folks in love’:
Growing up, every interpretation of love and intimacy was showcased through a heteronormative gaze. The work I make is for my past self and I hope they can allow for others to see that all types of love are achievable.
King’s work is close to home; in the sense that it foregrounds domestic space, quiet and quotidian moments, but also in the kinship it conveys. The light is warm and low, the mood sleepy and romantic. Sonny and David are new lovers and in their vulnerability there is strength; power in softness.
Installation shot: Hush-a-bye-Dreams, Gordon Robichaux, 2023. Photo: Greg Carideo
Clifford Prince King (b. 1993, Tucson, USA) lives and works in New York. His solo institutional exhibitions include Public Art Fund, New York, Chicago and Boston, 2024; Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, Long Beach, 2023 and Light Work, Syracuse, 2021. This year his work will be included in upcoming group shows at PHOTO Australia, Melbourne; Princeton University, New Jersey and Kunstmuseum Brandts, Odense.