Ed Aulerich-Sugai Collection, 1974-1994

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Summary

Title:
Ed Aulerich-Sugai Collection
Dates:
1974-1994
Creators:
San Francisco Art Institute Ed Aulerich-Sugai
Abstract:
The Ed Aulerich-Sugai Collection features exhibition flyers, and four sketchbooks created between 1980 and 1992. The materials document Aulerich-Sugai’s artistic process, blending botanical studies, mythological imagery, and personal reflections. Central to the collection are works responding to his experience with HIV/AIDS, including the Julian series, which explore illness, healing, and transformation.
Extent:
1 Document Box
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Ed Aulerich-Sugai Collection (SFAI.045.Aulerich-Sugai.Ed). San Francisco Art Institute Legacy Foundation + Archive.

Background

Scope and content:

Sketchbooks with drawings and text; Exhibition flyers; Newspaper clippings.

Biographical / historical:

Born in Honolulu and raised in Tacoma, Washington, Aulerich-Sugai grew up in a working-class community. In the 1970s, Aulerich-Sugai attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where he found an artistic community and queer chosen family. Alongside exhibiting his artwork, he worked as a gardener at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers and, in 1989, received the Berkeley Horticultural Nursery’s award for “Best Small Garden in the Bay Area.” His art often reflected his deep love of plants and nature. After being diagnosed with HIV in 1987, his work turned toward his illness. “The painting became a way for me to examine my illness, deal with my anger and fear, and a way to focus on healing and fighting the disease,” he wrote. He was among the first artists supported by Visual AIDS, an organization founded in 1988 to raise awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the arts, and support artists living with the disease. Aulerich-Sugai often spoke and wrote about his life with HIV/AIDS. As he explained in a 1991 television interview: “They are images of power that I created to help me heal, and I believe that they can help other people heal too.”

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by San Francisco Art Institute Archive staff.
Date Prepared:
1974-1994
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on Oct. 1, 2025, 1:06 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

Contact the San Francisco Art Institute Legacy Foundation + Archive for questions or requests regarding use of these materials.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Ed Aulerich-Sugai Collection (SFAI.045.Aulerich-Sugai.Ed). San Francisco Art Institute Legacy Foundation + Archive.

Location of this collection:
20 Hawthorne St.
San Francisco, CA 94105, US