The late Garilyn Brune (pronounced BROO-nee) was a West Hollywood fine artist known for his pen and ink, digital and mixed media drawings of big, beautiful women, aging drag queens, large showgirls and erotically playful women. His love of illustration superseded the onetime fashion designer’s desire to make garments. Born into a Pentecostal household in 1955, Brune took inspiration from the styles and cultures he experienced as a young, shy, gay man: gospel music, the glam and Black Arts movements of the 1970s and the costume designers of Hollywood’s golden age. In 1995, he was the grand prize winner of Tom of Finland Foundation’s Emerging Erotic Artist Contest for some of his raciest work.

In June 2013, Brune visited Vegas for a solo exhibition of his work at RTZvegas Gallery. Prior to Brune’s passing in 2014, Feder was able to photograph his works in high resolution in order to make prints and giclées to preserve his legacy, hand-signed by Brune.

The Center will host a public exhibit of works by Brune at 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, curated by collector Michael Feder. Several of these pieces will be on sale at the showing with 50 percent of the proceeds benefiting The Center.

Feder, an art collector and dealer, has asked that the community post Tweets regarding body issues, body acceptance, gender identity and fetish, appended with the hashtag #garilynbrune, which will each be printed and used to provide a framework to the unmounted artwork on display.