ED BEREAL

Ed Bereal (b. 1937), born in Los Angeles, is an artist and activist working at the center of political commentary and visual activism. After attending the Chouinard Art Institute in the late 1950s, Bereal began working as a “landscape artist”–creating works that illustrated the very socio-political landscape that he was living through. His art, often described as “a disturber of the peace,” is better characterized as political cartoons exposing the deep inequities of a society fueled by racial discrimination and capitalist greed.

Bereal’s work took off in the 1960s while he was still in art school, studying under John Chamberlain. Shortly after in 1961, Bereal’s work was featured in one of the first racially integrated exhibitions, “War Babies,” which challenged the stereotypical attitudes of post-war America. In 1965, the Watts Riots in Los Angeles took over the political scene as the Black community protested systemic racism, economic inequality, and police brutality. During this period, Bereal walked out of a bar only to come face to face with a machine gun. At this moment, the artist came to a realization: “If I put all the articles that were ever written about my work and Irving Blum and Walter Hopps in front of me, that bullet would go through all of them. Those things had no real meaning.” Bereal decided to reassess his privileged position in the context of gallery and museum spaces to explore his own identity and work towards tangible political change. Acknowledging the futility of his artistic practice in moments of racial injustice, Bereal turned to writing and street theater to perform in front of audiences and seize attention–even the FBI’s. He worked with his students from the University of California, Riverside to create the acting collective–the Bodacious Buggerilla–to attack the status quo and teach Black youth how to defend themselves. In his paintings and assemblages, Bereal employs Expressionist gesture and classical drawing techniques along with Pop Art references to produce incisive racial satire. Moving into community theater, performance work, and video production, he uses his artworks as avenues for social engagement, subverting long standing structures of authority. After teaching at the University of California and Western Washington University, Bereal now resides on a farm in Whatcom County, Washington where he continues creating and teaching art.

Bereal’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions internationally: Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami (2023); Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland (2023, 2021, 2020, 2004, 2002); Portland Art Museum, Portland (2020); Whatcom Museum, Bellingham (2019); Harmony Murphy Gallery, Los Angeles (2016); Librairie Marian Goodman, Paris (2022); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2006); Tilton Gallery, New York (2006); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2009); The Getty Center, Los Angeles (2011); Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York (1980); Huysman Gallery, Los Angeles (1961). His work is in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY); The Smithsonian Institute (Washington D.C.); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, CA); Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX); and The Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn NY) among others.