David Geiser (June 28, 1947 – October 14, 2020) was an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and creator of several

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

Life and works

David Geiser was an abstract expressionist painter, born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

in 1947. He studied at the University of Vermont and the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stud ...

. In 1969, he postponed starting in

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, moving instead to San Francisco and began drawing

, while befriending other underground comic creators such as

S. Clay Wilson Steve Clay Wilson (July 25, 1941 – February 7, 2021) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson attracted attention from readers with aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas ...

and San Francisco Comic Book Company founder Grey Arlington and immersed himself in illustrations. Geiser created several underground comic titles in the early 1970s, including Saloon, Demented Pervert, Clowns, Uncle Sham, DTs, Pain, Sloppy Seconds, and Edge City. The number of issues produced ranged from 1,000 to about 10,000. Geiser left San Francisco in 1976 and spent two years in Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He returned to the United States in 1979, settling in

SoHo, New York SoHo, sometimes written Soho (South of Houston Street), is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and has also been known for its variet ...

in the early 1980s. At that point, Geiser began concentrating on oil painting and moving into

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

. His canvases are tactile and deep, often being composed of many layers of shellac, pitch, tar, rope and scrap wood. Geiser was married to actress

Mercedes Ruehl Mercedes J. Ruehl (; born February 28, 1948) is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, two Obie Awards, a ...

. In 2001 they moved to East Hampton where they lived with their son, Jake. A son from a previous marriage, Cameron Geiser, lives in

Montara, California Montara () is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2020 census. Nearby communities include Moss Beach and Princeton-by-the-Sea. Etymology According to historical sourc ...

. They put their Hampton house on the market in 2017; the same year Ruehl was quoted as saying that they were no longer together, but remained close. David Geiser died unexpectedly of heart disease in his sleep at home on October 14, 2020, at the age of 73.

Selected works

References

External links

David Geiser paintings and show history

at

Lambiek Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

.net 1948 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters American Expressionist painters Abstract expressionist artists Underground cartoonists American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Artists from Rochester, New York 20th-century American male artists {{US-comics-creator-stub