Bobby Abate

Reality TV

Pencil on paper

“Created in a stream of consciousness, this drawing intertwines objects and icons, delving into technology, fantasy, and sexuality. As the drawing progressed, I began to see a meditation on my history as a reality TV editor begin to take shape.”

— Bobby Abate

About the artist

Bobby Abate

American

BOBBY ABATE (Brooklyn, NY) is a Queer artist, filmmaker and editor. Bobby’s work has been featured in exhibitions and screenings at prestigious venues such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the New York Film Festival, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Cinematheque, and the ICA in London, among others. Bobby is currently an artist-in-residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Art Space on Governor’s Island in New York City. In 2023, Bobby was awarded the DVAA artist fellowship. Bobby holds an MFA degree from Bard College. As an editor, Bobby worked on season 3 of the Queer docuseries We're Here on HBO, which recently won Peabody and Television Academy awards, in addition to creating animations for the renowned drag performer Sasha Velour. Bobby is currently working on a series of works that delve into Queer underground culture before the seminal Stonewall riots of 1969. In 2021, Bobby self-published The Outsider Tarot featuring 80 original artworks that reimagine the traditional Tarot in a modern, queer context. This deck and 200-page guidebook were presented at the Whitney Museum, Participant INC., and Miami MoCA, sold at Artbook in PS1 MoMA Queens, and are part of the permanent collection at the Fine Arts Library of Harvard University.