Dan Gerdeman is an award winning painter, cartoonist, and art educator whose art has a lowbrow bent. His work skewers the petty and heroic, and scrambles whimsy with savagery. Gerdeman’s paintings use a combination of toothy, cartoony figures and snarky text. His cast of characters largely centers around El Destructo. An everyman who stands out as self referential and as a bigger representation of all humanity. Gerdeman’s use of riddle-like text in comics often adds mystery, suspense, or humor through clever wordplay, cryptic clues, puzzles, or enigmatic dialogue. He assembles his work with sloppy outsidermarks and professionally guided brush strokes to create imagery that is instantly recognizable as his.
Dan is one of eight children. He is married to artist, Judy Gerdeman, and father of three. He has a B.S. in Art Education and an M.A. in Art Education from the Ohio State University. He has taught art in public schools for 30+years and exhibited his art professionally for 20 years. Gerdeman’s major influences are The North Baltimore Public Library, Fontaine Fox, old movies, and the Sunday cartoon pages. As an art educator, Gerdeman has specialized in drawing, painting, printmaking, murals, animation, and film making. His focus is on Big Ideas and student empowerment through art making and art consumption.