A self-taught artist, Craig Calderwood’s intricate and decorative works are rendered through a personal vernacular of symbols and patterns. Recalling the private languages that underground communities of queer and trans people used for safety for decades, Calderwood develops these patterns and symbols though research into history, personal narratives, and pop cultural moments. They then arranges them into constellations to tell stories both personal and fantasized. Calderwood has exhibited at The Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco, Handwerker Gallery in Ithaca NY, and Los Angeles’ ONE Archive. They have been featured in, THEM, Juxtapoz, and The New Museums Anthology Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility. They’re the recipient of a 2017 San Francisco Arts Commission IAC and a 2019 SECA award finalist. Hailing from the San Joaquin Valley, they now live and work in San Francisco, CA.