Gemma Rolls-Bentley

Gemma Rolls-Bentley is a curator, creative consultant, and writer who has been at the forefront of contemporary art for nearly two decades. Curating exhibitions and building art collections internationally, her curatorial practice amplifies the work of female and queer artists and provides a platform for art that explores LGBTQIA+ identity. Her debut book Queer Art: From Canvas to Club, and the Spaces Between was published by Quarto in May 2024. Most recently she curated “A Million Candles: Illuminating Queer Love & Life” at the London Art Fair. In 2023 she curated the group exhibition “Dreaming of Home” at Leslie Lohman Museum of Art in NYC and the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival in London. She also curated the Brighton Beacon Collection, the largest permanent display of queer art in the UK. Rolls-Bentley is a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art and has taught at numerous institutions including Goldsmiths and Glasgow School of Art. She co-chairs the board of trustees for the charity Queercircle and sits on the Courtauld Association Committee.

Dominic Myatt

b. 1993, Leicester, UK. Lives and works in London, UK. 2014 BA, Goldsmiths, University of London.

"The fashion world has been obsessed with Dominic Myatt’s work for years; his distinctive line drawings have appeared in collaborations with numerous labels from Vivienne Westwood to Hugo Boss, and Tom Ford collects his paintings. Working across a range of mediums from tattoos and illustration to painting and sculpture, he presents a unique approach to abstract figuration that blurs the remembered with the imagined to explore queer desire inspired by his own experiences of working in sex clubs. Having recently been awarded a coveted place in London’s Royal Academy of Arts MA Programme, 2024 marks a pivotal moment in Myatt’s career."

Artwork Image: Fireplace, 2023; gas fire, rope, pulley, centipede.

Sarah Francis

b. 1982, Wrexham, Wales. Lives and works in Leeds, UK. 2011 MFA, Leeds University, Leeds, UK. 2007 BA Photography, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

"Sarah Francis draws on her neurodiverse and queer identity to shape her work, posing questions about consent, agency, and pleasure. Her assemblage work, incorporating found and recycled materials, channels the landscapes of Northern England and speaks to the kinship between queer bodies and the natural world. In 2023, she presented her work in the US for the first time in a group exhibition at NYC’s Leslie Lohman Museum of Art alongside Catherine Opie, Jenna Gribbon, and Nicole Eisenman. Her work has recently entered a number of significant collections, both private and public, that champion the work of queer and female artists in the UK and US."

Artwork Image: Peek No.4, 2024; wood, paint, pencil.

Zach Toppin

b. 1987. Lives and works in London, UK

"Zach Toppin is a painter whose work explores love, sex, emotion, and gender. Their rich visual language comprises references to queer culture, coded symbols, and deeply personal experiences. The work reveals an appreciation and fascination for the creative and ritualistic ways in which clothing, accessories, and objects play a role in the formation of outwards presentations of identity. After coming out as trans last year, Toppin found the confidence to return to their artistic practice. With recent participation in a flurry of celebrated exhibitions and a major London solo show lined up for 2025, an exciting journey lies ahead for the artist."

Artwork Image: (I was a cliff, then a rock, then a stone, then a pebble, then sand, then a) Pearl, 2024; oil on Canvas