Downtown Archæologies

Terence Sellers

by Ava

Terrance Sellers was an artist, writer, performer, and dominatrix who lived and worked in New York. She attended St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the Classical Studies department but did not complete her degree. However, later on in 1986, she earned a BA in forensic psychology at John Jay College.

When she first moved to New York City, she wanted to be a writer and a dancer. She quickly because friends with many artists based in New York and she began collaborating with them on various projects. She collaborated with famous artists like Jimmy De Sana on a project called “The Dungeon Series,” which demonstrated a type of sexualized performance art. Her work as a dominatrix in combination with her artistic eye influenced much of her work.

Terence Sellers is influential in the history and culture of downtown New York because she contributed to publications such as BOMB Magazine and X Magazine and various others that focused on New York’s downtown art, music, film, and literary scene. Her work embraced and embodied emerging styles of art and mechanisms of self expression.