Mark Thomas Gibson

ABOUT

Mark Thomas Gibson’s personal lens on American culture stems from his multifaceted viewpoint as an artist—as a black male, a professor, and an American history buff. These myriad and often colliding perspectives fuel his exploration of contemporary culture through languages of drawing, painting, print, and sculpture revealing a vision of a satirical, dystopian America where every viewer is implicated as a potential character within the story.

Gibson (b. 1980, Miami, FL) received his BFA from The Cooper Union in 2002 and his MFA from Yale School of Art in 2013. He is represented by M+B in Los Angeles and Loyal in Stockholm. In 2016, he co-curated the traveling exhibition Black Pulp! with William Villalongo; in 2024 he curated the group exhibition Edge of Echoes at Jenkins Johnson Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Gibson has released two artist books, Some Monsters Loom Large (2016) and Early Retirement (2017). In 2025, Gibson’s first monograph will be published by JRP Editions in conjunction with his exhibition, Overture, at the Berman Museum at Ursinus College, (Collegeville, PA).

Gibson has been awarded residencies at Yaddo and the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency; he has been a MacDowell fellow twice. In the summer of 2023 he was an Efroymson Family Fund Visiting Artist at Ox-Bow School of Art and in the summer of 2025 he will be an artist-in-residence at Pilchuck Glass School. He has been awarded a Pew Fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, (Philadelphia, PA), a Hodder Fellowship from Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ), a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.

Gibson’s most recent solo exhibitions include Overture (The Berman Museum, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA, 2025) Lineage (The Library Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 2024), Whirligig! (Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY, 2023), and A Retelling (MOCAD, Detroit, MI, 2023).

Selected Interviews:
Sound and Vision Podcast, Episode 455, conversation with Brian Alfred, December 26, 2024.
Condition Report by William Powhida. The Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College, Winter 2022. Chaos is the Season by William Corwin. Art Papers, “Corruption,” 2021.
Mark Thomas Gibson + Mario Moore in Conversation, On the occasion of NADA’s fundraising print edition by Gibson, 2021.
Brooklyn Rail Weekend Journal #26: Mark Thomas Gibson, 2020.
The Opening Response: Mark Thomas Gibson by Josseline Black-Barnett for Umbigo Magazine. 2020.
Mark Thomas Gibson + Cal Siegel in Conversation, Matthew Brown Los Angeles Podcast, 2020.
Mark Thomas Gibson’s Early Retirement | Interview with Patrick Frey of Edition Patrick Frey, 2020.
Mark Gibson’s Good Kind of Trouble | Live at the Armory Show with Radio Juxtapoz, 2020.
Mark Thomas Gibson on Painting, Drawing, History, Teaching, and moving to Philadelphia | Artblog Radio with Roberta Fallon, 2019.
Mark Thomas Gibson on the Political Climate | Bloomberg News, 2018.
Comics Out of Chaos, Juxtapoz Magazine, 2017.
Some Monsters Loom Large, Huffpost Interview by Ridley Howard, 2017.
Sifting Through the Madness, Foundations Magazine, 2014.

Selected Reviews
What Would Ben Franklin Say? Artists Weigh The Dream of Democracy by Hilarie M. Sheets, The New York Times, March 23, 2023.
Mark Thomas Gibson’s Cartoons See the US Going Nowhere by John Yau, Hyperallergic, 2023.
Mark Thomas Gibson: WHIRLYGIG! by William Corwin, Brooklyn Rail, 2022.
Resting Space: The Prophetic Works of Mark Thomas Gibson by Evan Pricco, Juxtapoz, 2020.
Acts of Recognition by David Geers, Frieze Magazine. November/December 2017.
Mark Thomas Gibson: Early Retirement by William Corwin, Brooklyn Rail. 2017.

Publications  
THIS IS AMERICA, curated by Mike Gessner in partnership with Albertz Benda Gallery, Kunstraum Potsdam, Berlin, DE.
rethinking painting: The 50th Anniversary of the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting, by Joan Waltemath.
Drawing 20/20, Gladstone Gallery, Edited by Miciah Hussey, Isaac Alpert and Sarah Willis.
Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists. The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art, 2020.
Fired Up! Ready to Go!: Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life in Art. The Collections of Peggy Cooper Cafritz. 2018.

CV

EDUCATION

2013 MFA, Yale School of Art, Painting & Printmaking

2002 BFA, Cooper Union School for the Advancement of Science and Art

 SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025
Overture, Berman Museum, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA

2023
A Retelling, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI
WHIRLYGIG!, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY

2022
HERE YE, HEAR YE!!!, Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

2021
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, M+B, Los Angeles, CA.

2020
Resting Space, M+B, Los Angeles, CA
Mark Thomas Gibson, curated by Jamillah James, M+B at the Armory Show, New York, NY.

2019
The Dangerous One, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2018
Gauntlet, Loyal Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden

2017
Early Retirement, Fredericks and Freiser, New York, NY                     

2016
Some Monsters Loom Large, Fredericks and Freiser, New York, NY

2013
Alamo Revenant, Fredericks and Freiser, New York, NY

2013
Black and Blue, Motus Fort, Tokyo, Japan 

TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2021
American Psyche, with Austin Lee. Carl Kostyal, Stockholm, Sweden

2019
Neither Devils Nor Divines, Rebecca Morgan. Mother Gallery, Beacon, NY

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024
Commemorations, Spruce Street Harbor Park, Philadelphia, PA
Striking (Lighting) Blue, Loyal Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
Retinal Hysteria, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, New York

2023
This Life:Black Life in the Time of Now, Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora, Miami, FL
Smoke and Mirrors: Magical Thinking in Contemporary Art, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL
Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Poor People’s Art: A (Short) Visual History of Poverty in the United States, USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, Florida

2022
STUFF, curated by Arlene Shechet, Pace Gallery, New York, NY
Flying Horse Editions Exhibition, UCF Art Gallery, Orlando, FL 
Behold: Works from Rutgers Print Collaborative, Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ

2021
Bitter Nest, Perrotin, Tokyo, Japan
THIS IS AMERICA, curated by Mike Gessner in partnership with Albertz Benda Gallery, Kunstraum Potsdam, Berlin, Germany.
A Gathering, The Catskills, New York, NY
The Myth Industry, Friends Indeed Gallery. San Francisco, CA.
Something About Us, Anthony Gallery, Chicago, IL

2020
Vortex, Curated by Allison Zuckerman. Kravets Wehby Gallery, NY, NY
Drawing 2020, Barbara Gladstone, NY, NY
Living in America, curated by Assembly Room. IPCNY, NY, NY
Good Pictures, curated by Austin Lee. Jeffrey Deitch, NY
The 100 Show, Loyal, Stockholm, Sweden.
Animal Crossing, curated by Jackie Gendel + Dana Frankfort.  Inman Gallery, Houston, TX.
Life During Wartime, University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL.
Shifting Gaze: A Reconstruction of the Black and Hispanic Body in Contemporary Art, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA.

2019
Routine Malfunction, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
Quiet March to a Warring Song, curated by Amie Cunat. Shaker Museum, New Lebanon, NY
Big Ringer, Andrew Eldin Gallery, New York, NY

2018
The Cruelest Month, Mother Gallery, Beacon, NY
Utopias, Gallery221, Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL
Gauntlet, International Comix Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland

2017
The Curator’s Eggs, Paul Kasmin Gallery, NY
Woke!, Contemporary Art Museum, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL                       

2016
A Being in the World, Salon 94, New York, NY
American Optimism, Able Baker Contemporary, Portland, ME

2015
The Midnight Sun, Curated by Dustin Metz,Ms. Barbers, Los Angeles, CA
The Landscape Changes 30 Times, Curated by Ala Deghan, Anahita Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

2014
American Beauty, Curated by William Villalongo, Susan Inglett, New York, NY

2013
Blaine De St. Croix, Mark Thomas Gibson, Howardena Pindell, Fredericks and Freiser, New York, NY

2012
Space, curated by Matt Jones, North Atlantic Conference Exhibition, New York, NY

2010
Quick While Still, Curated by Kadar Brock, Heist Gallery, New York, NY

2009
Quick While Still, Curated by Kadar Brock, Motus Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Hollywood Cultural Arts Center Annual Exhibition, Curated by Jane Heart, Hollywood, FL         

PUBLICATIONS

2021      
THIS IS AMERICA, curated by Mike Gessner in partnership with Albertz Benda Gallery, Kunstraum Potsdam, Berlin, DE.
rethinking painting: The 50th Anniversary of the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting, by Joan Waltemath.

2020
Drawing 20/20, Gladstone Gallery, Edited by Miciah Hussey, Isaac Alpert and Sarah Willis.
Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art, edited by Antwaun Sargent.

2018
Fired Up! Ready to Go!: Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life in Art. The Collection of Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Peggy Cooper Cafritz and Thelma Golden.

2017
Early Retirement, Published by Edition Patrick Frey, Zurich, CH
(Essay) Oracles, Artists Calling Cards, Published by Edition Patrick Frey, Zurich, CH

2016
Some Monsters Loom Large, 2nd Edition, Published by IPCNY, NY, NY

2015
Some Monsters Loom Large, 1st Edition, Self-Published with assistance from Foundation for Contemporary Arts. New York, NY.

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

Edge of Echoes
2024
Jenkins Johnson Projects, Brooklyn, NY

Black Pulp!, Co–curated with William Villalongo.
2018
African American Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2017
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
2016
International Print Center, New York, NY           
32 Edgewood Gallery, Yale University, Haven, CT

GRANTS, AWARDS & RESIDENCIES

2024
Artist Project Award, Beyond Glass Cases: The Library Company of Philadelphia’s Collections Lab,  The Library Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Teacher-in-Residence, Ox-Bow School of Art & Artist Residency, Saugatuck, MI. The Chiaro Award, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

2023
Juror, 215|610 CONTEMPORARY Juried Exhibition, DCCC Art Gallery, Media, PA
VALS Fellow, Pratt, New York, NY Visiting Artist-in-Residence, Ox-Bow School of Art & Artist Residency,Saugatuck, MI

2022
Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Grant, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, New York, NY
Guggenheim Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, New York, NY

2021-22
Hodder Fellowship, Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Pew Fellowship, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia, PA

2021
Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY.
Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency, Troy, NY; Awarded scholarship via Agnes Gund Foundation in partnership with EMAR.

2019
Flying Horse Printshop Residency, Orlando, FL
The Fountainhead Residency, Miami, FL

2017
The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

2016
E–Grant, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York, NY

2013
Ely Harwood Schless Memorial Fund Award, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, New Haven, CT
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL

TEACHING

2018 - Present
Associate Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

2016 – 2018         
Full-Time Lecturer/Critic; Assistant Dean of Student Relations; Yale School of Art, Yale University, New Haven, CT

LECTURES, PANELS, ETC.
2024
A Conversation at the Barnes with Deputy Directors James Claiborne, The Barnes Museum, Philadelphia, PA Edge of Echoes: Curator Walk Through, Jenkins Johnson Projects, New York, NY Visiting Artist Critiques, Boston University, Boston, MA Life After Yale, Yale, New Haven, CT SVA's MFA Fine Arts Annual Reviews, SVA, New York, NY The New Social Environment (BR): Philip Guston Now at Tate Modern in London moderated by Harry Cooper., Brooklyn Rail, New York, NY

2023
Guest Critic Drawing Senior Survey, Pratt, New York, NY Interview for the documentary film “The Franklin Experiment”, Filmmakers Grace Lee and Alicia Sams, Philadelphia, PA Visiting Artist Final Critique, SVA, New York, NY Juror Talk, 215/610 CONTEMPORARY , Media, PA Visiting Artist Lecture, MICA, Baltimore, MD Visiting Artist Critique, The Glassell School of Art, Houston, TX Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Houston, Houston, TX VALS Lecture, Pratt Institute, New York, NY Artist Talk with Mario Moore, MOCAD, Detroit, MD What are the new horizons of art making in the 21st Century?, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA Visiting Artist Lecture, SVA, New York, NY 2023 Weiner Lecturer, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA Multiple Suns, Part One moderated by Rising Sun Fellow and Scholar, Michael K. Wilson, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America with PAFA President Eric Pryor, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Artist Walkthrough, Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
, New York, NY Visiting Artist Lecture, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY Monument/Memorial , SVA, New York, NY Visiting Artist Lecture, Yale University, New Haven, CT American Chorus, Ball State University, Muncie, IN

2022    
Panel: Hear Ye, Here Ye!!! with Dan Nadel and Amy Sillman, Princeton, NJ
Visiting Artist Lecture, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Visiting Artist Lecture, Oakland University, Detroit, MI
Visiting Artist Lecture, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2021    
Visiting Artist Lecture, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Visiting Artist Lecture, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Visiting Artist Lecture, The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PA
Visiting Artist Lecture in Conversation with Robert Storr, Pratt Institute, New York, NY
Visiting Artist Lecture, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MS

2020    
Visiting Artist Lecture, New York University, New York, NY         
Visiting Artist Lecture, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Visiting Artist Lecture, Montgomery County Community College, Philadelphia, PA.
Conversation: Murder, Malice, and Mayhem, in the 18th Century and Today: Responses in Graphic Media. Conversation with Elizabeth M. Rudy, Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Associate Curator of Prints, Division of European and American Art, Harvard Art Museums.
Visiting Artist Lecture, Mason Gross, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, MJ
Visiting Artist Lecture, The Cooper Union, New York, NY
Panel, Life During Wartime, Christian Viveros-Faune, Mark Thomas Gibson & William Villalongo; University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL.
Mark Thomas Gibson’s Early Retirement, Edition Patrick Frey, Zurich, Switzerland.          
Visiting Artist Lecture, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Feature: Hero of 1000 Faces, WLRN Public Radio and Television, Interview for the series 'Hero of 1000 Faces, PBS.
Web Feature: On The Spot with the Brooklyn Rail: Mark Thomas Gibson.
Podcast: Mark Gibson’s Good Kind of Trouble: Live at the Armory Show, Radio Juxtapoz.
Podcast: Mark Thomas Gibson + Cal Siegel in Conversation, podcast, Matthew Brown, LA.
Panel: Shifting Gaze, Mark Thomas Gibson, Wanda Raimundi and Robert Feldstein, Virginia MOCA.
Panel: Robert Storr’s ‘Philip Guston: A Life Spent Painting, Robert Storr, Amy Sillman, Carroll Dunham, Mark Thomas Gibson and Alexi Worth, Hauser and Wirth.
            
2019    
Visiting Artist Lecture, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA        
Visiting Artist Lecture, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island.
Visiting Artist Lecture, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA.
Conversation: Mark Thomas Gibson and Philip Glahn in Conversation: The Dangerous One, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Podcast: Art Blog Radio: Roberta Fallon and Mark Thomas Gibson, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery

2018    
Web Feature: Bloomberg News, Studio, Philadelphia, Bloomberg.com                                                    
Visiting Artist Lecture, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD                                                   
Visiting Artist Lecture, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Baltimore, MD

2017    
Curating Comics: Creating Exhibitions in Galleries and Digital Spaces, The Schomberg’s Annual Black Comic Festival, New York, NY
Visiting Artist Lecture, Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL

2016    
Black Pulp! Panel and Symposium at the SVA Theatre, presented by IPCNY, New York, NY