Rico Gatson

Rico Gatson (born 1966) is an American multidisciplinary artist, working in Brooklyn, New York. His work draws from his African-American background. Through his art, he provides social commentary on significant moments in African-American history.

Early life and education Rico Gatson was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1966, and grew up in Riverside, California. 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, he attended Bethel University in Minnesota as an undergraduate. He received his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Yale School of Art in 1991. The Promise of Light, 2013.

Exhibitions Solo exhibitions

Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York, NY My Eyes Have Seen, 2018 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 Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY, Dark Matter, 2009 Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, TN, African Fractals, 2006 Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY, African Fractals, 2006 Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY, History Lessons; Clandestine, 2004 Franklin Art Works, Minneapolis, MN, Rico Gatson: Recent Works, 2003 Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA, Masking: Rico Gatson (Kindred) And Andres Serrano (Klansman), 2002 Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY, Rico Gatson, 2001 Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY, Rico Fire, 2000 Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY, Home Sweet Home, 1999

Group exhibitions

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

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