In this new body of work, Terrill presents ten paintings that unfold as deeply personal narratives—part memoir, part social history—drawn from decades of lived experience within queer, Chicano, and artistic communities. As in his earlier work, Terrill’s practice remains rooted in autobiography, but here the tone is reflective and expansive, shaped by the artist’s recent milestone of turning seventy. The exhibition’s title, Chisme y Memorias, speaks to the intertwined nature of storytelling, gossip, remembrance, and community—an understanding that life itself is constructed through shared histories, relationships, and recollection.

Two central themes run throughout the exhibition: the rituals, grief, and resilience surrounding the AIDS crisis, and the artist’s enduring relationships—particularly with women—across friendships, family, and creative collaborations. Terrill positions himself neither as hero nor victim, but as a witness navigating love, loss, joy, and personal reckoning.

Four of the paintings function as self-portraits, including two scenes of “chisme,” or intimate conversation. In Chisme, East LA – 1984, 2025, Terrill depicts himself at age twenty-eight seated closely with poet Marisela Norte during an ASCO video shoot, the pair leaning into one another amid the noise of music and social energy. The painting captures both the immediacy of youth and the formation of lifelong friendships within the vibrant Chicano art scene of 1980s Los Angeles.

This sense of continuity extends into Chisme, Tucson, 2025, 2026, a recent work based on a photograph taken during a gathering with writer and curator Joan Quinn. Painted after a shared moment of playful “gossiping,” the work also marks Terrill’s first self-portrait at age seventy, embracing the visible passage of time and the persistence of creative and social bonds.

Three works engage directly with New York City, which Terrill considers a second home. The Dakota, December 1980, 2006–2025, depicts mourners gathered following John Lennon’s murder, a moment the artist recalls as signaling a cultural and emotional shift at the dawn of the 1980s—coinciding with the earliest emergence of the AIDS epidemic. This moment appears repeatedly in Terrill’s work, notably in the triptych Chicanos Invade New York, 1981 (see Figure 1), in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where Terrill is depicted reading a newspaper announcing Lennon’s death.

In My Mother’s Maiden Name, 2006, Terrill recalls an early period after relocating to New York, posing beside graffiti bearing his mother’s name in SoHo—a gesture of homesickness and connection to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Man Singing Arias on West 57th Street, 2025, captures an anonymous performer encountered on a Manhattan sidewalk, embodying the spontaneity and vitality of the city’s street life.

The AIDS crisis remains a defining presence in the exhibition. Waiting to Go to Dennis’ Memorial – Santa Fe, New Mexico – 1991, 2001, reflects not only on the individual lost, but on those left behind and the communal rituals of mourning, remembrance, and survival that shaped a generation.

Perhaps the most emotionally raw work in the exhibition, I Got Drunk, Called His Machine and Threatened to Punch His Fuckin’ Face In, 1996, confronts a moment of personal crisis. Painted years after the event, the work addresses the artist’s struggle with depression, substance use, and the overwhelming toll of loss during the height of the epidemic. It stands as both confession and turning point, acknowledging the complexity of lived experience during this period.

In contrast, Tamalada, 1999, offers a scene of communal joy: friends gathered around a table preparing tamales, sharing food, laughter, and tequila. Painted from memory, the work emphasizes the importance of chosen family and celebration, particularly during times marked by illness and uncertainty.

Terrill also reflects on relationships with women through works such as Ana and Cousin Pat, Silver Lake – 2002 (First Date), 2010-2026, which documents a pivotal moment in a long partnership that lasted over two decades, and Dyan, Monica, Marisela, Diane and Luis, Hollywood – 1993, 2006-2026, based on a photograph from his first solo exhibition, highlighting the community of artists connected to VIVA, the organization for gay and lesbian Latino artists.

The paintings originate from photographs, some that Terrill took over decades, reflecting his lifelong habit of carrying a 32mm camera to document the people, places, and moments that shaped his life, and others taken by family or friends. Throughout these works, Terrill’s distinctive painterly approach—combining bold color, graphic line, and a balance between photographic reference and expressive interpretation—remains central. Figures are outlined with crisp black lines which come from the artist’s love of cartoons and harkens back to his early Zine publications Chicos Modernos and Homeboy Beautiful which portrayed his gay community with dignity, humor and affection that lend clarity and presence, while nuanced tonal shifts capture light, texture, and emotional atmosphere.

Terrill’s work continues to bridge the personal and the collective. His paintings serve not only as records of individual experience but also as reflections of broader cultural histories—particularly those of queer and Chicano communities navigating visibility, loss, and resilience.