Tom of Finland: Inventing Queer Art

Tom of Finland's work helped define a queer generation. Read more below.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, and Graeme Flegenheimer (El Club Detroit) present "TOM House: The Work and Life of Tom of Finland," opening Thursday at Mike Kelley’s Mobile Homestead at MOCAD.

The exhibition will feature work by Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, Finnish, 1920-1991) and incorporate artists who supported and admired his work over the years, including Richard Hawkins, Robert Mapplethorpe, Raymond Pettibon, Jim Shaw, and John Waters. The presentation will also include photographs, reference materials, and ephemera.

Tom of Finland’s drawings — remarkable not only for their masterful rendering, but also their fantastical representation of the male form — have been long celebrated for their radical role in broadening the popular understanding of queer experience in art. Placed in context with the work of his peers, the assemblage of these artworks engages a sensational narrative, one that helped define a generation.

The exhibition will remain on view through May 19.

4454 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, MI 48201

Touko Laaksonen (Tom of Finland) early drawing

Provided by MOCAD.

Untitled,1947

Tom Of Finland
Gouache On Paper
Height 11.25/ Width: 8.38
Courtesy of the Tom of Finland Foundation

"Tom’s Finnish Tango", 1947 Graphite on paper 16.75x13.75" Wood frame

Tom of Finland
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation and David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, California

Untitled, 1959

Tom Of Finland
Graphite On Paper
Height: 11.06 / Width: 8.50
Courtesy of the Tom of Finland Foundation

Untitled (from "Motorcycle Thief" series), 1964 Graphite on paper

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen,Finnish, 1920–1991)
12.88 x 8.25 inches
Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection ©1964 Courtesy of Tom of Finland Foundation 2018

Buddies, 1973

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen,Finnish, 1920–1991)
Gouche on paper
12.19 x 8.89 inches framed
© 1973 Tom of Finland Foundation, Incorporated
Courtesy of Rob Hennig Collection

Untitled (Portrait of Pekka), 1975 Gouache on Paper

Tom of Finland
Height: 10.69 / Width 8.81
Courtesy of the Tom of Finland Foundation

Untitled (From "Kake vol. 20 - Pleasure Park"), 1977

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen,Finnish, 1920-1991)
Pen and ink
13.13 x 9.44 inches framed
© 1977 Tom of Finland Foundation
COQ International gift to Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA