Dewey Crumpler

Overview
Dewey Crumpler, Untitled 71, 1997
Dewey Crumpler, Untitled 71, 1997

Dewey Crumpler (b. 1949, Magnolia, Arkansas) is an artist, painter, and muralist renowned for his vibrant works. Blending various materials and digital imagery, his works transcend traditional boundaries, creating surreal experiences that merge video, mixed media, sculpture, and traditional painting techniques. In examining themes of race, capitalism, and the history of oppression, Crumpler has long been preoccupied with the ways in which objects can be sites of exploration for what it means to be Black, bringing light to the aesthetic freedom that leads to Black liberation.

 

Crumpler was an Associate Professor of Painting of the San Francisco Art Institute, where he taught Kehinde Wiley and Deborah Roberts. His practice began as a city muralist, studying under the late Pablo Esteban O’Higgins and David Alfaro Siqueiros. He has upcoming solo exhibitions at the Museum of African Diaspora in 2026, as well as a solo exhibition titled Dewey Crumpler: Life Studies at the David C. Driskell Center in Fall of 2024. 

Works
Press
Exhibitions
Art Fairs