The first time I encountered the name Gary Gee was on a notecard titled The King is Black at the 2021 Butter Fine Art Fair. As I typically do at events, I quickly followed Gee on Instagram and went about the evening. It wasn’t until one of Indianapolis’ First Fridays the following fall that I actually saw Gee in real life. As I thought Gee was approaching me to say hello, he walked right past me and up to my then-teenage son, saying, “Man, you can play the hell out of a piano, make sure to keep playing.” That moment – and the fact that somehow my teenage son doesn’t just follow but actually knows Gary Gee, who I’m a fan of – is exactly who Gee is to me.
Gary Gee was born and raised in Indianapolis, developing artistic talents from an early age. Whether it was paper sacks from the grocery store or old envelopes, Gee would constantly draw and doodle – and as he says himself, that was before people would let him draw on their walls. His imagination and interests evolved as he aged, and he found himself using art to express his creativity – merging the real world with a fantasy world where Gee could illustrate his life in a big city, the famous friends he would make, and the unimaginable adventures he would go on at the tip of his pen.
A dichotomous experience
When you meet Gary Gee, you’ll notice the bucket hat, his height, and his style – likely in that order. Then you might pick up on his radio-personality voice and his deep laugh. And despite all of those things, what’s most noticeable about Gee is his soul.
Whether it’s through Instagram or while interacting with Gary in real life, you’ll discover that one of his divine gifts is his ability to motivate, inspire, and support others. His Instagram houses a collection of inspiring videos that he’s created to help build into others around him. He started his “Monday to Monday” videos in 2018 while preparing to be the featured visual artist for the Arts Council’s Art & Soul program. At first, they were simply a way to keep himself accountable – “to kick myself in the butt to stay on task,” as he puts it. But soon people began following along, drawn to his authenticity.
“I think Instagram was still in its earlier phases, and I was just looking for a way to stand out as a visual artist while remaining as true to myself as I could,” Gee said. “That organically created a sense of community and accountability. I use everything from slang to classical literary quotes, metaphors, matter-of-fact opinions, and my own sense of self. Overall, my goal is to cultivate creativity in the community and push free thinking.”
Gee hopes that those who stumble across his videos – whether it’s a young artist, a peer, or someone who just needs a spark of motivation – walk away feeling seen and inspired. “If someone can take even one sentence from me that helps them keep going, then that’s worth it,” he explained.
Creating out of brokenness
While Gee’s been a practicing, professional artist for decades, it wasn’t until the inaugural Butter Fine Art Fair that he burst onto the Indianapolis art scene. His beautiful sculpture, “The King is Black,” was nothing more than a collection of broken pieces when Gary found it. The concrete and steel materials used were hard, but they were glazed with a ceramic that might look tough but is actually quite delicate and fragile. Gee was able to repurpose these pieces and fire them together, creating a new mosaic of beauty out of brokenness – something that illustrates his journey through life.
“We’re all regal, especially Black men; we should walk through life with our crowns high,” Gee said. “Through ‘The King is Black’ I created something that represents every facet of my struggles and how I’ve had to rebuild time and time again – and it simultaneously represents anyone else who’s been broken and had to put themselves back together.”
On the horizon
Gee’s calendar is as vibrant as his imagination. He recently opened a small gallery space with his friend Kenneth Hordge (aka FingerCreations) called Corner Boys Gallery, located inside the Factory Arts District. This August alone, he’s curating Hip-Hop Anthology Vol. #5 at the Indianapolis Artsgarden, showcasing Universal DRIP at the Central Library, and rounding out the month with BUTTER 5 at the Stutz Building over Labor Day Weekend.
Beyond exhibitions, Gary has spent the past five years as a teaching artist with Arts for Learning and is currently participating in an Artist Building Community fellowship at Match High School, previously Matchbook Learning Academy, School #53, where he and his students are working on a Tiny Home project. He’s also a longtime member of the We Are Indy Arts Collective, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and the XVIII Artist Collective, which rose to prominence after the creation of the BLM mural on Indiana Avenue in 2020.
As for how people can support him, Gee keeps it simple: “Follow me or any of the groups I work with, share a post, tell a friend. Show up to an exhibition or cultural event, and if you can, buy artwork. That support means everything.”
Connect with Gary Gee at artbygarygee.com.
