Steven Love Menendez is an award-winning, New York City–based photographer and queer activist whose work centers on the fine art figurative nude. His decades of experience as a fashion editor and art director, along with extensive work on photography sets, inform and enrich his fine art practice. He pursued his photographic studies at the International Center of Photography.
His evocative portraits have been exhibited at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, The Bob Mizer Museum and Photographic Archives, as well as in exhibitions across New York City, San Francisco, Fire Island, Provincetown, and Miami. His accolades include being named one of the World’s Top 10 Black and White Photographers in 2019 and one of the World’s Top 10 Fine Art Photographers in 2021 by One Eyeland, along with multiple winning placements in the NUDE PhotoShoot Awards (2018–2021). In 2018, he received the President’s Medal at the Fire Island Cherry Grove Arts Project. His photographs have been published in The Advocate, Gay Letter, Out Magazine, Physique Pictorial, and The Queer Review, amplifying his vision and extending his artistic reach.
A visible force in LGBTQ+ activism for decades, Menendez channels his ethos of peace, love, and kindness into public action. He is the creator of the ongoing 250-flag Pride Month Rainbow Flag installation at the Stonewall National Monument. In 2019, he played a pivotal role in securing the installation of the first permanent flagpole and Rainbow flag at the monument. He successfully petitioned for the first permitted drag shows at a U.S. National Monument. His work continues to draw international media attention for its cultural impact and visibility.
Legendary queer photographer and filmmaker James Bidgood remarked, “I love Steven’s luxurious fusing together of uncontrolled nature and the human form in an equally natural state, adding his splendid vision to what is truly to be treasured about mankind.” Charles Leslie—art collector, gay rights activist, and founder of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art—observed, “When I first saw Steven’s artwork, I instantaneously realized I was looking at something that was forever!”
A devoted student of mysticism, spirituality, and philosophy, Menendez explores the tenderness and intimacy of the human form through serene, harmonious compositions that evoke peace and introspection. He seeks to inspire a deeper understanding of beauty and the human condition. Through his artistic practice and activism, he invites us to rediscover our essential oneness with the universe.