Hyperallergic interviews Los Angeles-based painter Keith Mayerson, who discusses his ongoing 'My American Dream' series—a cosmology of paintings blending American identity, activism, and popular culture. The conversation covers his early influences from comics, the Muppets, and Hunter S. Thompson, his transition from cartooning to painting, and his vibratory, swirling brushwork. Mayerson's work has been featured in the 2014 Whitney Biennial and is currently on view at the Aspen Art Museum and the Pollock-Krasner House.
This interview matters because Mayerson's work offers a distinctive, optimistic vision of American identity that merges personal history with collective cultural icons, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Kermit the Frog. His approach challenges traditional distinctions between high and low art, while his teaching role at USC's Roski School of Art and Architecture and his ongoing exhibitions underscore his influence on contemporary painting and art education.