Cliff Mooney

Clifton Mooney (born 1986), also known by his alias Gauche Cowboy, is an American photographer and visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. His work is noted for its raw intimacy, emotional subtlety, and explorations of physical and psychic vulnerability, often using Polaroid and analog techniques. He has published work in fashion and culture magazines such as Vogue, V Magazine, Interview, Boys! Boys! Boys!. The New York Times profiled him in 2022 as a "nurse-turned-photographer" whose "strange, arresting images" capture the post-pandemic New York queer renaissance. The artist has exhibited internationally in New York City (O'Flaherty's, Taafe Gallery, The Hole), Texas, and London (Brick Gallery), and, in 2025, produced a full monograph, GAUCHE BOOK.

Early life and education Mooney was born and raised in West Texas, USA. He attended nursing school in Lubbock, later working in medical–surgical units across several hospitals

In March 2020, as COVID-19 spread in the United States, Mooney accepted a short-term nursing contract at a Harlem hospital, leaving New Orleans for New York City. The Times described his arrival on a "dedicated Covid-19 floor" where "half a dozen bodies lined up in gurneys down the hallway." The experience, Mooney shares, "I saw hundreds of people dying," he recalled—proved formative, motivating him to seek creative release outside the hospital. Before pursuing photography, he worked as a nurse – an experience he has said helped him develop sensitivity to the body and emotional nuance.

Work Mooney's photographic practice foregrounds moments of quiet masculinity, corporeal tension, and emotional stillness. He often works with analog formats (Polaroid) and digital media, favoring atmosphere over gloss. During that first pandemic summer, the artst began taking self-portraits with a Polaroid SX-70 camera his mother had given him years earlier. He later told the Times that photography became "a coping mechanism… something completely opposite, sexy and dark and different.”

Raised in a conservative environment, he viewed these images—often nude or semi-nude—as an exploration of queer self-acceptance. His images reject over-polishing in favor of fragile gestures and implied narrative and some photographs include Sharpie-marker text.

In fashion and editorial contexts, he has shot campaigns or editorial spreads, and also integrates his personal photographic voice into cultural and queer contexts. This includes interviews, campaigns, and cover shoots for actors Christopher Meloni, Jeremy O. Harris, Bowen Yang, Jon Kung, and Ryan O’Connell for Interview Magazine, designer Max Zinser for Neptune Magazine, writer, model and actress Emily Ratajkowski for Miu Miu's December 2022 campaign, painter Alexandre Kasproviez for office, actor Brandon Flynn for Les Hommes Public Magazine, amongst others.

Critics have linked his work to predecessors Mark Morrisroe, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Hujar, Jack Pierson, and Tom Bianchi, while noting his contemporary focus on intimacy, anonymity, and ethics. His work has been profiled in The New York Times and Out Magazine.

Selected Exhibitions and Projects

Fall 2025: Gauche book release (first self-published project) Spring 2025: Photography for Hommes Les Publics Magazine, including cover and 12-page spread February 2025: Tiny Vices Archive (group show) at The Hole Gallery, New York City December 2024: MIU MIU campaign featuring Gigi Hadid, photography by Mooney June 2023: Two in 1 group show, Brick Gallery, London April 2023: Golden Leaf group show, Taaffe Gallery, Brooklyn December 2022: MIU MIU campaign with Emily Ratajkowski (photography by Mooney) October 2022: Photography in Neptune Magazine (for work by Max Zinser) July 2022: The Patriot group show, O’Flaherty's Gallery, New York City July 2022: Sean & Val. The Zine, Vol. 2 — photo story by Mooney June 2022: Boys Boys Boys Magazine feature "Gauche Foto" by Mooney April 2022: Full Mooney feature in Out Magazine March 2022: Photography for Jon Kung interview in Interview Magazine January 2022: Sex, Drugs and Polaroids article in The New York Times focusing on Mooney's work Dec 2021: Photography for Bowen Yang interview in Interview Magazine May 2021: Solo show Excerpts in Quarantine, West Lab Gallery, Brooklyn, NY