Rico Gatson is a

multidisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

artist working from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, whose work draws from his

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

background. Through his art, he provides social commentary on significant moments in

history. His work combines abstract patterns with vibrant colors, which creates confrontational work that references African American culture and history.

Early life and education

Rico Gatson was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...

in 1966 but grew up in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...

. His parents, a nurse and a landscaper contractor, migrated to the East Coast during the Great Migration and joined the newly formed Black middle class. In the 1980s, attended Bethel College in Minnesota as an undergraduate. He changed his degree from graphic design to fine art, receiving his Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree in 1989. For his Master of Fine Arts degree, he attended

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, paint ...

in 1991. During his time at school, he studied sculpture under artist David von Schlegell. He completed his artist residency at

Franconia Sculpture Park Franconia Sculpture Park is an outdoor sculpture park in Franconia, Minnesota, United States, that offers a 50-acre outdoor museum, active artist residency program, and a depth and breadth of community arts programming for a diverse and engaged ...

, Taylor Falls in 1998 and was an Artist in Residence at the Wright Museum of Art of

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and ...

. Afterward, Gatson pursued his career in art from

Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Pa ...

, a Brooklyn neighborhood in New York City.

Art

Gatson's art practice explores themes of Black history and identity. Many of his works critique the injustices in African-American history often referencing Black culture by appropriating images of famous figures, riots, and African textile design. Stylistically, his work usually incorporates vivid geometric patterns, working with conceptualism and abstraction, to imbue a mystical curiosity in the viewer. His assertive pieces captivate spectators with visual elements in order to emphasize their socio-political context later on. Being an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

artist, Gatson works with many different mediums such as

painting 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 ai ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

photography Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

, and installations. When asked in a recent interview, he mentions that to him 'It is about having experiences in multiple materials in order to provide a form for the ideas.' However, a common aspect in all his works is its polychromatic nature. He is well known for his paintings which exhibit this aspect. Kaleidoscopic motifs are also incorporated in his videos and portraits of Black heroes, such as

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; ...

, Martin Luther King Jr.,

the Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

, and

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at places such as The

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...

in D.C., The Studio Museum in Harlem in New York, The Essl Museum in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. ''Beacons'' In 2019, Gatson had created a series of mosaic portraits for the Bronx Subway Station. The piece, titled ''Beacons'', was exhibited in 167 St. Station, and the eight portraits celebrated iconic African-American and Latino figures; those who were depicted included Tito Puente, Justice

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served sinc ...

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during ...

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cal ...

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

, and

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

. ''Beacons'' is an extension of his first New York museum solo, ''Icons''. The geometric lines that primarily use the

Pan-African Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

colors, red, green, and black allude to beams of light, emphasizing the beauty and pride that is associated with the cultural figures. The colors used in the mosaics are also common in many of Gatson's other paintings such as those seen in ''When She Speaks''. His panels paintings also incorporate the aforementioned colors to reference African culture as a whole. ''When She Speaks'' Gatson's 2014 solo exhibition, ''When She Speaks,'' is exemplar of Gatson's multidisciplinary approach to making art. Not only were paintings included but photo collage, sculpture, and video as well. The focus of the exhibition was a short video that played footage of Black Panthers members Kathleen and

Eldridge Cleaver Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...

responding to the injustice of their son, Bobby Hutton's death. Colorful kaleidoscopic edits were included in order to fragment and overlap the imagery, resulting in an unnerving atmosphere. Similar instances of such video effects can be seen in his solo show, ''The Promise of Light,'' 2013.

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, Icons, 2017 Studio 10, Brooklyn, New York, Rico Gatson: When She Speaks, 2014 Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY, The Promise of Light, 2013 Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, TN, African Fractals, 2006 Franklin Art Works, Minneapolis, MN, Rico Gatson: Recent Works, 2003 The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA, Masking: Rico Gatson (Kindred) And Andres Serrano (Klansman), 2002 Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY, Home Sweet Home, 1999

Group exhibitions

Essl Museum, Vienna, Austria, New, New York, 2013 The Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, The Jewel Thief, 2011 Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, NY, System Failure, 2007 The Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA, Black Belt, December 11, 2005, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, Black Belt, 2004 Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY, Current Undercurrent:Working in Brooklyn, 1998

Awards

* ''Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Award for Visual Artists, 2001'' * ''Prized Pieces Video Award from the National Black Programming Consortium, Columbus, OH, 1991'' * ''Oil Bar Ltd. Award for Excellence in Sculpture from Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT, 1991'' * ''Pew Charitable Trust Graduate Fellowship, 1990''

References

External links

* http://ricogatson.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatson, Rico American video artists American contemporary artists African-American artists African-American contemporary artists 1966 births Living people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people