Adrienne Louise Fuzee (May 16, 1950 – May 18, 2003) was an American artist, curator, gallerist, editor, poet, and activist, based in California.

Adrienne Fuzee
Born
Adrienne Louise Fuzee

May 16, 1950
Los Angeles, California
DiedMay 18, 2003(2003-05-18) (aged 78)
Oakland, California
Occupation(s)Art curator, gallerist, editor

Early life and education

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Fuzee was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Lawrence Fuzee and Beulah Francis Fuzee. Her parents were both born in Louisiana. She graduated from Our Lady of Loretto High School in 1968.[1] She attended El Camino College in the mid-1970s.[2]

Career

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Fuzee curated art exhibits[3] including "Jean Cornwell: Paintings and Sculptures" (1992) at the Lyceum Theatre gallery in San Diego,[4] "Primal Edge" (1994) at SOMAR Gallery, "San Diego Contemporary Art" at the Yokohama Citizens Gallery, "Techno Art" at the Spectrum Gallery in San Francisco, "Torch and Anvil" (1989) at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery,[5] "Contempo Lesbos" (1998) at Queer Arts Resource in San Francisco,[6] "Sheets in the Wind: A History of the Poster in the LGBT Community" (2002) at the Hormel Center, San Francisco Public Library.[7]

Fuzee was president of the City of San Francisco Art Commission Gallery Advisory Board. She co-edited a journal of criticism, Unsolicited Commentary, with Garland Kyle. She taught at the San Francisco Art Institute. She was one of the founding directors of the Queer Cultural Center[8] and founder and co-chair of Lesbians in the Visual Arts.[1][9][10] She was community organizer for the Harvey Milk Center in 1980.[11] In 1990 she was curator of Berkeley's Zocalo Gallery.[12] Fuzee also wrote poetry and gave poetry readings in San Francisco.[13]

Personal life and legacy

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Fuzee's partner was Lisa Kahaleole Hall. Diabetes became a serious health concern in her last years, as she lost vision in one eye, and her lower leg was amputated.[14] She died in Oakland in 2003, two days after her 53rd birthday, from heart failure.[15][16] Her papers are in the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.[1] Fuzee is one of the figures included in Jon Macy and Avery Cassell's The Butch Lesbians of the '50s, '60s, and '70s Coloring Book (2018).[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Adrienne Fuzee papers". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  2. ^ "Students to Receive $15,000 in Scholarships". The Redondo Reflex. 1976-06-30. p. 31. Retrieved 2022-06-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Passages: Adrienne Fuzee (May 16, 1950-May 18, 2003)". Windy City Times. 2003-07-01. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  4. ^ Reed, Victoria (1992-01-29). "At the Galleries". The Los Angeles Times. p. 204. Retrieved 2022-06-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. Advisory Board. Curatorial Committee (1989). Agenda. San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco, Calif. : San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.
  6. ^ Oweis, Fayeq (2008). Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists. ABC-CLIO. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-313-33730-7.
  7. ^ Textor, Alex Robertson (April 27, 2000). "Politics, Sex, and Publicity: Sheets in the Wind at the Main Library". Bay Area Reporter. pp. 29, 40. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Fuzee, Adrienne (2001). "History: The Birth of Qcc The Center for Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender Art & Culture". Queer Cultural Center. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  9. ^ "Lesbian Photography: Hobnail Boots to Stiletto Heels". Women Artists of the American West. 1993. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  10. ^ Blackwell, Erin (September 23, 1993). "Lesbian Audibility". Bay Area Reporter. p. 43. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ "Focus Shifts on Harvey Milk Center". Noe Valley Voice. August 1980. p. 13. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ Langton, Mark (1990-09-08). "Artists Bury 'Endangered' Work". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-06-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Calendar". Noe Valley Voice. November 1983. p. 20. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Szymanski, Zak (May 1, 2003). "Help an Ailing Artist Sun". Bay Area Reporter. p. 4. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ Szymanski, Zak (May 22, 2003). "Art Activist Adrienne Fuzee dies". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via GLBT Historical Society, Online Searchable Obituary Database.
  16. ^ Szymanski, Zak (May 22, 2003). "Lesbian Artist Adrienne Fuzee Remembered Sat". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via GLBT Historical Society, Online Searchable Obituary Database.
  17. ^ Butch lesbians of the 50s, 60s, and 70s coloring book. Avery Cassell, Jon Macy, Sasha T. Goldberg. Dana Point, CA. 2018. ISBN 978-0-9970487-9-7. OCLC 1051773756.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
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