Beyond the Rainbow: A Collective Act at The Bunker Artspace

From the outset, co-curators Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow conceived Beyond the Rainbow, The Bunker Artspace’s latest show, as an exhibition that speaks in multiple voices, grounded in the belief that queer history demands plurality. That commitment shaped every aspect of the project.

Rather than approaching it as a singular curatorial statement, Dvorkin and Monrow organized a curatorial roundtable of nineteen artists, curators, writers, architects, and cultural figures whose voices span generations, disciplines, and lived experience. As Dvorkin explains, it was essential that the exhibition reflect the art world as a community, not simply a curatorial hierarchy. Different backgrounds and generations were brought together to offer the clearest possible view of queer history as it exists today and where it is headed next. Spanning nearly a century of work, the exhibition resists imposing a single definition of queer art. Some works are overt and representational, others abstract, coded, or historically closeted. “Those who knew, knew,” the curators write, acknowledging the implicit resilience embedded in earlier forms of queer expression.

Chris Cortez ¡Que Vivan los Novios!, 2021 Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody Courtesy of the artist and The Mistake Room, Los Angeles

At the heart of the exhibition is Beth Rudin DeWoody’s long-standing commitment to supporting artists, even when the work is not so easy to live with. As Dvorkin notes, this commitment has extended over decades, particularly in her support of queer artists, many of whose practices engage with the AIDS crisis and other histories marked by loss. Indeed, several of the artists represented belonged to a generation that was profoundly affected by that period, and many were lost to it. Bringing these works together was deeply emotional. Dvorkin describes the collection as a living archive, one that holds joy and grief simultaneously, and insists on visibility, memory, and care. “While it does feel like a piece of activism in and of itself considering its subject matter and location, it is also a celebration of joy, love, meaning, and community.”

Chloe Chiasson, Sunday Confessions, 2022 Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody Courtesy of the artist and Albertz Benda, New York and Los Angeles

Beyond the Rainbow opened on Saturday, December 6, traditionally The Bunker Artspace’s buzziest weekend, when the global art ecosystem makes its way to Palm Beach from Art Basel Miami Beach. It opened alongside Companion Species (Witness), curated by Marie Watt, an exhibition that examines interconnectedness between humans, land, and other species through a wide-ranging group of Indigenous and contemporary artists. The opening reflected the spirit of the exhibition itself. Artists, curators, collectors, and friends filled the space. Lady Bunny DJed. As the day unfolded, Dvorkin recalls hearing from multiple guests who found themselves unexpectedly teary-eyed while moving through the exhibition.

In the end, Beyond the Rainbow does not argue for queer art’s legitimacy. It gathers its histories, contradictions, and joys into a shared space and invites viewers to stand inside that complexity together. As Dvorkin makes clear, that invitation is the point. In Florida. Right now.