Keith Mayerson
Keith Mayerson (b. 1966, Cincinnati, Ohio) paints familiar figures from American history and pop culture, personal scenes, and abstract “iconscapes.” Mayerson mines the histories and cultural resonance of his subjects—the Muppets, gay activists and icons, and national parks are all part of his extensive cosmology—transforming them into allegories of resilience and determination. Informed equally by his undergraduate education in semiotics and his decades of teaching cartooning in addition to fine art, Mayerson considers his paintings to be embodiments of national sentiments. Using meditative brushstrokes, he channels the French Impressionists, American modernists, and the Hudson River school in equal measure. Like a method actor, Mayerson immerses himself in media related to his subjects while he paints, inviting his subconscious to take over, leading to a practice that is at once research-based and psychologically-driven. His exhibitions are often installations of images that create larger narratives by juxtaposing paintings that speak to one another like panels in a comic. Since 2000, his ongoing, non-linear narrative My American Dream series has been presented in discrete exhibitions as chapters. He is a tenured professor of art at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California, where he has also created a visual narrative art program. Mayerson lives in Riverside, California.
His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia; American University Museum of Art, Washington, DC; Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Massachusetts; UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, California; RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island; Fairfield University Museum, Connecticut; Rennie Museum, Vancouver; and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami. His graphic novel Horror Hospital Unplugged, made with the writer Dennis Cooper, was published in 1996 by Juno Books. Mayerson is currently creating a graphic-novel biography of James Dean to be published by Fantagraphics, and was co-editor of the 2024 Frank Johnson: Secret Pioneer of American Comics Vol. 1, from the same publisher.
Mayerson’s exhibition My American Dream: City of Angels is currently on view at Karma, Los Angeles through July 20.
Born 1966, Cincinnati, Ohio
Lives and works in Riverside, California
EDUCATION
1993
MFA, University of California, Irvine
1988
BA, Semiotics and Studio Art, Brown University
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024
Karma, Los Angeles, My American Dream: City of Angels
2022-23
Karma Bookstore, New York, My American Dream: Creators and their Cosmologies
2021-22
Karma, New York, My American Dream: This Land is Your Land
2019
Elaine de Kooning House Foundation, East Hampton, New York, My American Dream: Capturing a Glimpse of Elaine and her Circle
Marlborough Gallery, New York, My American Dream: Heroes & Villain
The Bridge, Bridgehampton, New York, Elaine and Her Circle, September Art Show
2018
Weiss Berlin, Love/Liebe: Keith Mayerson & German Expressionist Masters-Otto Dix, George Grosz, Josef Scharl and more
2017
Marlborough Contemporary, New York, My American Dream, Mystery Train (in loving memory of Daniel Tinker Knapp)
Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, My American Dream
2016
Weiss Berlin, My American Dream: Berlin Edition
2015
Marlborough Chelsea, New York, My American Dream
Freddy Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, Iconscapes
2014
David Shelton Gallery, Houston, My American Dream: Frontiersman
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, My American Dream (Prologue)
2013
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, My American Dream
2012
Solo Booth for Derek Eller Gallery, NADA NYC Art Fair, New York, My American Dream
2011
Shaheen Modern & Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Life, Art & Fashion
Knoedler Gallery, New York, Iconscapes: 1995-1999
2010
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, My Modern Life
Broadway Windows, 10th and Broadway (NYU), New York, Good Leaders, Endangered Species
2009
The Bakery – Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, Souvenirs
Paul Kasmin Gallery (project room), New York, Both Sides Now: A Selection of Drawings 1992-2009
2008
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Good Leaders, Endangered Species, Ships At Sea, Part II
Kim Light / Lightbox, Los Angeles, Good Leaders, Endangered Species, Ships At Sea
2007
Shaheen Modern & Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Friends & Family
2006
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Kings & Queens
Gallery Alain Noirhomme, Brussels, Heroes
2005
QED Gallery, Los Angeles, Rebel Angels at the End of the World
2004
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Hamlet 1999
2003
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Hamlet 1999, Pt. 3
2000
The Fifth International, New York, Illuminations
1997
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, Paintings and Drawings
1995
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, Monty’s Dream: The Sleeper in the Valley
1994
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell!
1993
Kiki Gallery, San Francisco, Pinocchio the Big Fag
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, Likewise: Artists Portraying Artists
The Ranch, Montauk, New York, Drunk vs. Stoned 3
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, Inside/Outside
PHIL, Los Angeles, Fruit.
2022
Lyles & King, New York, I is Other
2021
PHIL, West Hollywood, Home Fires Burning…
Broadway Gallery, New York, GROUPER
2020
ALONE Gallery, East Hampton, Werner Buttner, Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Keith Mayerson, and Alice Neel
2019
UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Strange, curated by Lawrence Rinder
1969 Gallery, New York, Stonewall 50/50, curated by Bill Arning
Foxy Production, New York, Portraits: Gina Beavers, Srijon Chowdhury, Kenturah Davis, Anna Glantz, Keith Mayerson, Paul P., Anja Salonen
The Drawing Center’s Lab gallery, New York, As If: Alternative Histories from Then to Now
ODD ARK, Los Angeles, I fear empty space, I love empty space. The space is full and the space is empty – Works by Keith Mayerson and Allison Schulnik, curated by Dani and Yvonne Tull
Shana Nys Dambrot, Artillery (online), Dreamhouse Vs. Punkhouse (Plus Cat House!)
2018
Real Estate Fine Art, Brooklyn, Mixed Bag: Drawings, curated by Joe Bradley and Jeremy Willis
Project Art LA/The Underground Museum, Los Angeles, My Kid Could Do That
PHIL, Los Angeles, ROCK, curated by Tony Payne
2017
Marlborough Contemporary, The Armory Show, New York, Keith Mayerson, Julius von Bismarck, Werner Büttner
Show, New York
The Journal Gallery, New York, Drawing Island
Invisible-Exports, New York, Heartbreak Hotel
2016
Marlborough Chelsea, New York, Landscapes
New Art Projects, London, 2 Years of Looking, curated by Erik Hanson
Allen & Eldride (James Fuentes project space), New York, Logic Frog
Kai Matsumiya Gallery, New York, Foundation Barbin Presents: Redeux (Sort of), curated by Lucky DeBellevue
Galerie Division, Montreal, Intensive Nesting, curated by Brad Phillips
2015
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, America is Hard to See
Galeria Marlborough, Madrid, EAGLES II
2014
The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, The Great Figure
Robert Blumenthal Gallery, New York, Keith Mayerson and Peter Saul
Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, Don’t Look Now
247365 Gallery, New York, Harp
Sarah Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, Inaugural Exhibition
David Shelton Gallery, Houston, Parallel Myths
New Britain Museum of Art, New Britain, Connecticut, This One’s Optimistic, curated by Cary Smith
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Whitney Biennial
2013
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, A Point of View: Selected Gifts from the Laurence A. Rickels Collection
Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, Jew York
Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, All F@*#ing Summer
2012
SecondGuest, New York, and Ana Cristea Gallery, New York, The Picture of Dorian Gray, curated by Ilan Cohen with Quan Bao
Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York, Group Shoe, curated by Joe Bradley
Anton Kern Gallery, New York, Its Always Summer on the Inside, curated by Dan McCarthy
Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, B-OUT, curated by Scott Hug
Vogt Gallery, New York, The End, curated by Michael Buhler-Rose and John Connelly
2011
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Keith Mayerson: Horror Hospital Unplugged, Dominic McGill: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Maruani & Noirhomme Gallery, Brussels, 8 Americans
Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, Joni
New York Academy of Art, New York, Put Up or Shut Up
2010
Visual Arts Gallery, New York, Ink Plots: The Tradition of the Graphic Novel at SVA
Foxy Production, New York, The Pencil Show
Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn, New York, Keith Mayerson, Kent Henricksen
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, Wall to Wall
Kim Light/Lightbox, Los Angeles, The Boneyard
2009
Royal/T, Culver City, California, The Never-Ending Story: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Obsession, curated by Laura Hoptman
Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, Out of Order, curated by Scott Hug
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, Naked
James Cohan Gallery, Shanghai,The Tree
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, New Acquisitions
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, Figuratively Seeing
2008
Brooklyn, Peanut Gallery, The Journal Gallery, curated by Joe Bradley
PHIL, Los Angeles, THINGS BEHIND THE SUN
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Summer Group Exhibition
Anton Kern Gallery, New York, Friends and Family
Ratio 3, San Francisco, Kiki: The Proof Is In the Pudding
Monya Rowe Gallery, New York, The Guys We Would Fuck, curated by Nayland Blake
PPOW Gallery, New York, History Keeps Me Awake at Night: A Geneaology of Wojnarowicz
The Center For Book Arts, New York, Artist as Publisher
Samson Projects, Boston, ambivalent figuration; people
John Connelly Presents, New York, a new high in getting low II
2007
Greene Naftali Gallery, New York, Genesis I’m Sorry,
Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, Joe Bradley, Ann Craven, Dana Frankfort, Keith Mayerson
2006
Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Likeness (Portraits from All Angles)
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Summer Group Exhibition
EFA Gallery, New York, How I Finally Accepted Fate, curated by Jason Murison
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, This Name of This Show is Not GAY ART NOW, curated by Jack Pierson
Greene Naftali, New York, Salon
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Inaugural Group Exhibition
2005
PPOW Gallery, New York,The Most Splendid Apocalypse,curated by Jason Murison
Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, This Hard, Gem-Like Flame, curated by Joseph R. Wolin
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, “On Paper: Drawings from the 1960’s to the Present
2004
Greener Pastures Contemporary Art, Toronto, Ontario, Under the Sun
I-20, New York, Rimbaud, curated by Max Henry
Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, The Sublime is (Still) Now, curated by Joseph R. Wolin
Nicole Klagsbrun, New York, Let the Bullshit Run a Marathon, curated by Nate Lowman
2003
Dietch Projects, Brooklyn, New York, K48
Gallery of Art & Science, New York, Hothouse; Contemporary Floras, curated by Mary Jo Vath
Royal Modern, New York, You, curated by Lisa Kirk
Gallerie du Jour at Agnes B., Paris, A New New York Scene–K48 Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show
FIAC Art Fair, Paris, curated by Scott Hug
Marres, Maastricht, Holland, Magazin (K48: Do Not Provoke Us)
D’Amelio Terras Gallery, New York, Now Playing
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Drawings
2002
k48, Scope Art Fair, New York, Kool Kult
The Drawing Center, New York, 25th Anniversary Selections Exhibition
Derek Eller Gallery, New York, Landscape
2001
LACMA, “Refiguring Painting”
American Fine Art at P.H.A.G., New York, Group Exhibition
2000
Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Recent Acquisitions
Acme., Los Angeles, Fore and Aft
1999
Exit Art, New York, The Stroke, curated by Ross Bleckner
Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado, Young New York Painters, curated by Ross Bleckner
1998
The Fifth International, New York, Inaugural Show, curated by Jennifer Bornstein and Chevy’s Clem
Audiello Fine Art, Inc., New York, he swam down, away, curated by Tony Payne
Pat Hearn and Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, Painting: Now and Forever
Entwistle Gallery, London, Codex USA: Works on Paper by American Artists
Edinburgh International Art Festival, Edinburgh College, Edinburgh, I Love New York
Thomas Healy Gallery, New York, Bathroom, curated by Wayne Koestenbaum
Mary Boone Gallery, New York, View 3, curated by Klaus Kertess
Audiello Fine Art Inc., New York, Francis Alys, Keith Mayerson, Franklin Preston, Hiroshi Sugito
XL Gallery, New York, More, curated by Tony Payne
1997
Luhring Augustine, New York, Paintings and Sculpture
Musee d’art Contemporain de Bordeaux, France, Three Painters, curated by Jack Pierson
1996
Casey Kaplin Gallery, New York, The Name of the Place, curated by Laurie Simmons
University of Las Vegas, Young, Dumb, and Fun, curated by David Pagel
White Columns, New York, The Incredible Power of Cheap Sentiment, curated by Bill Arning
P.P.O.W., New York, Annual Summer Watercolor Exhibition, curated by Tom Woodruff
1995
The Lab, San Francisco, Degenerative Art Show
Feature Gallery, New York, The Moderns, curated by Tony Payne
Rojes Foundation, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Faggots, curated by Bill Arning
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, Stretch Out & Wait
1994
White Columns, New York, Stonewall 25, curated by Bill Arning
Three Day Weekend, Los Angeles, Dave’s Not Here Show
Three Day Weekend, Los Angeles, Red Rover
New Langton Arts, San Francisco, Tiny Shoes
The Drawing Center, New York, Selections Spring ‘94
Rio Hondo College, Wittier, California, Playfield, curated by Randy Summers
1993
Kiki Gallery, San Francisco, Sick Joke
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, Steve Crique, Keith Mayerson, Tyler Stallings
Public Collections
American University Museum of Art, Washington DC
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio
Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Massachusetts
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia
UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, California
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City
