Eric J. Van Giessen (he/they) is an artist, scholar, and poet from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is currently a Ph.D. student studying Sociology at York University. His dissertation research focuses on illuminating lived experiences of queer religiosity using arts-based methods.
Van Giessen’s art seeks to exemplify queer joy through impactful digital paintings and linocut prints. Homoeroticism, the beauty of the human form, humor, and religious imagery are common themes in his work. Combining a vibrant pop-color array with greyscale blocking and cleanlines, Van Giessen’s art peels away the details of his subjects leaving a minimal portrait that maintains depth and sensuality.
Van Giessen started his brand, Queero Gear, as a way to fund his graduate education and to keep in touch with his creative side amidst the cerebral slog of Ph.D. life. When he’s not studying or making art, he is eating food with his chosen family in Toronto or going for long hikes with his Goldendoodle, Mabel Rose.
