b'6 By Sarah B. Hood Queer artists that have made ART INVESTMENTNames or are makingtheir mark to Knowon the global art sceneQ ueer creators are among Canadas most notableJES FANestablished and rising contemporary visual artists.Born in Canada in 1990, but now better known in Here are a just few of the most collected andcollectible. Hong Kong, London and New York, Jes Fan is a non-binary artist whose work evokes questions about biology and identity. Fan holds a BFA in glass work from the Rhode Island School of STEPHEN APPLEBY-BARRDesign. They now live in New York, creating The figures in Stephen Appleby-Barrs paintings inhabit a visually rich dreamlandsculptural works with glass, resin and silicon, and a fabulous puppet show of (sometimes) animal-headed humans wearing goldas well as experimental media like testosterone, braid, brocade and splendid military apparel against a background of swirlingestrogen, melanin and fat in order to explore clouds, smoke or flames. His depiction of historical costumes is meticulous andthe nature of physical change. References to extremely detailed. Born in 1981, Appleby-Barr studied illustration at Ontariosscientific equipment like test tubes and petri Sheridan College and is one of the younger gay artists starting to garner attentiondishes underscore their interest in the significance on the global art circuit. An unusual aspect of his working style is that he likes toof chemical mutation and transformation; create tiny figures, like miniature marionettes, to use as reference material for thethey have also stated in interviews that they are characters that appear in his paintings.He is currently based in London, England,similarly interested in the transformations that and his work sells for around $3,000. He is represented by Torontos Nicholasmake up the economy of art, where artwork Metivier Gallery. can be exchanged for money, which in turn can be exchanged for the materials that will be transformed into other works of art.JAMES FOWLER Painter James Fowler was born in Germany in 1971, but he studied at York University and maintains a full-time studio practice in downtown Toronto. He practises in several different forms, including portraiture and painting on found objects, but is especially known for his large-scale painted maps of major cities and significant neighbourhoods. Seen in aerial view, these are rendered in intricate detail as a mass of tiny shapes in primary colours and unite Canadian landscape painting with modern abstract painting. Apart from the charm of being able to recognize specific familiar landmarks, these works also have an appealingly jewel-like quality reminiscent of pixellated computer images, mosaics or candy.Toronto in June (left) and Paris at Midnight (right)18| QBiz CANADA | 2021'