Pat Perry (artist)

Pat Perry
Born1991 (age 34–35)
Pontiac, Michigan
EducationKendall College of Art and Design
Known formural painting
Notable workNational Lilypond Songs, Song and Dance, Which World
StyleAmerican vernacular landscape painting
Websitewww.patperry.net

Pat Perry (born 1991) is an American painter and street artist based in Detroit, Michigan. He is best known for a series of sketchbooks and 35mm photographs documenting years of itinerant traveling around the United States and painting realistic depictions of 21st century America.[1][2] His practice also includes mural painting, photography, illustration, storytelling, and freight train tagging.[3]

Early life

Perry was born in Pontiac, Michigan, and grew up in Comstock Park. His father was a copywriter, and his mother was a remedial teacher. From 2009 to 2012, Pat attended Kendall College of Art and Design, but did not graduate.[4][5]

Career

During the early 2010s, Perry gained recognition for his series of sketchbooks and photographs collected while traveling around the United States by hitchhiking and riding freight trains.[6][7] His large-scale works and posters have called attention to various social causes through collaborations with groups such as AptArts, No More Deaths, and the UN High Commissioner For Refugees.[2] He collaborated with the Beehive Design Collective on their years-long poster project, MesoAmerica Resiste.[8]

From 2015 to the present, Perry created for his large-scale murals on buildings in Belgium,[9] Mozambique,[10] Australia,[11] Sweden,[12] Finland,[13] Kosovo,[14] New Zealand,[13] and Iraqi Kurdistan,[15] as well as several murals in Detroit. His murals depict diverse cultures and landscapes of different parts of the world, often involving humanistic, socially-conscious themes.[16][17] In addition to murals on buildings, Perry has worked on murals on the exterior of a plane, automotive vehicles as well as a skateboard park.[18]

In 2018, Perry had his first museum exhibition, titled National Lilypond Songs, at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The show featured depictions of the American landscape, and was considered as a major shift for Perry.[19] The style of painting was compared to the artworks of Andrew Wyeth and Grant Wood.[20][1]

In 2020, Perry had his second solo exhibition, Song and Dance, at Takashi Murakami’s Hidari Zingaro gallery in Tokyo, Japan.[21] In 2021, Perry debuted Sensemaking, which depicted quiet scenes framed through roadside vantage points and performances of costumed figures and contemporary symbols. The works centered around a broad theme of flawed logic while continuing his social commentary.[22]

In 2023, Perry presented a solo exhibition, Which World, at Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles. The artwork utilized images from crowd-sourced, public-facing archives like Craigslist or YouTube. Everyday objects were used to represent the effects of the digital age on day-to-day life in Perry's Craigslist series.[3][23]

In 2025, Perry completed 27 Schoolteachers and a Volcano, a mural in Princeton, Wisconsin, commissioned by the Princeton Art Collective. The work depicts a volcanic landscape bordered by portraits of local schoolteachers who participated in the project.[24] The mural examines how individuals sustain a sense of purpose through everyday acts of service while existing amid broader, uncontrollable global forces.[25]

In 2025, Perry created a flyer titled Mentor Wanted, a public call centered on the ambiguities of adult life. The project was described as a response to prevailing certainty in online discourse. The flyer was posted in cities across the United States and internationally, and was also made available as a free download.[26][27]

Work

Selected exhibitions

Solo

  • 2024: Especially Terrific, Fort Wayne Museum Of Art, IN[28]
  • 2023: Which World, Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA[23]
  • 2021: Sensemaking, Hashimoto Contemporary, NYC [29]
  • 2020: Song and Dance, Hidari Zingaro Gallery, Tokyo, JP[30]
  • 2018: National Lilypond Songs, Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI[31]
  • 2016: The House You Came From, Dorothy Circus Gallery, Rome, IT[32]

Group

Selected commissions

  • 2025: 27 Schoolteachers and a Volcano, Princeton Art Collective, Princeton, WI[39]
  • 2024: Erie County Witness Tree Map, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY[40]
  • 2024: Detroit Institute of Arts (PIPA Murals), Detroit, MI[41]

References

  1. 1 2 "Juxtapoz Magazine - Pat Perry's Americana and "Sensemaking" @ Hashimoto Contemporary, NYC". www.juxtapoz.com. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  2. 1 2 "Pat Perry". Hashimoto Contemporary. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  3. 1 2 "Juxtapoz Magazine - New Versions of Old Stories: Pat Perry on Authenticity, the Supernatural, and Trees". www.juxtapoz.com. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  4. ↑ "Pat Perry". Communication Arts. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  5. ↑ Mullen, Victoria (2013-02-28). "Pat Perry: Art by Experience". Rapid Growth. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  6. ↑ Jobson, Christopher (2015-02-20). "Visually Arresting New Sketchbook Spreads and Drawings by Pat Perry". Colossal. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  7. ↑ "PHOTOS: Pat Perry's Calculated Surrealism". HuffPost. 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  8. ↑ Moretto, Mario (2012-12-09). "Beehive Collective adds giant poster to anti-globalization arsenal". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  9. ↑ "'Crystal Ship' festival kicks off in Ostend adding twenty new frescoes to the city". The Brussels Times. 8 April 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Maputo, Mozambique & Miami, Florida USA". One Blue Sky Project. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Pat Perry: City Square". Victoria's Big Build: Creative Program - Pat Perry. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "Pat Perry's first mural in Sweden". Street Art News. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Artist Spotlight Pat Perry". Ann Arbor Art Center. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  14. ↑ Gillen, Doug; Pricco, Evan; Perry, Pat. "Radio Juxtapoz, ep 095: Pat Perry in Ferizaj, Kosovo". Radio Juxtapose. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Staugaitis, Laura (2019-07-26). "Two Collaborative Murals by Pat Perry and Local Schoolchildren Connect Communities in Iraq and Maine". Colossal. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  16. ↑ Hooper, Ryan Patrick. "As Murals in the Market expands, painter Pat Perry puts a focus on the neighborhoods". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  17. ↑ Webb, Carolyn (2019-10-30). "'Playful' mega-mural honours our artists ... and construction workers". The Age. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  18. ↑ "Two-story mural coming to the Foundry in Cleveland's Flats". Cleveland.com (news and information). Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "Pat Perry - Hi-Fructose Magazine". Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  20. ↑ "National Lilypond Songs: Pat Perry's American Landscapes Are The Perfect Sign of the Times". Juxtapose. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "Pat Perry "Song and Dance"". Tokyo Art Beat. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  22. ↑ Ebert, Grace (2021-10-15). "Drawings and Paintings by Pat Perry Reinterpret American Stories with Tender Absurdity". Colossal. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  23. 1 2 "Quotidian Moments as Magical Subjects - Pat Perry Takes Over Hashimoto Contemporary | Widewalls". www.widewalls.ch. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  24. ↑ Wakim, Sami (2025-09-17). "27 Schoolteachers and a Volcano" – A New Mural by Pat Perry in Princeton, Wisconsin | street art united states". Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  25. ↑ Ebert, Grace (2025-09-09). "In Rural Wisconsin, Pat Perry Connects the Various Forces That Shape Our World". Colossal. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  26. ↑ "Mentor Wanted by Pat Perry". Issue Press. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  27. ↑ Magpies (2025-10-14). "Pat Perry: Mentor Wanted". Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  28. ↑ "Especially Terrific: New Paintings by Pat Perry". FWMoA. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  29. ↑ "Pat Perry - "Sensemaking" | 16 October - 6 November 2021". Hashimoto Contemporary. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  30. ↑ "Pat Perry "Song and Dance" （Hidari Zingaro）". Tokyo Art Beat. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  31. ↑ "Juxtapoz Magazine - Thoughts on Painting: Pat Perry on "National Lilypond Songs"". www.juxtapoz.com. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  32. ↑ "PAT PERRY: The House You Came From | 12 Nov - 3 Dec 2016 - Overview". Dorothy Circus Gallery. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  33. ↑ "Hi-Vis". Buffalo AKG Art Museum. 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  34. ↑ "Elements of the Anthropocene:... | Exhibitions | MutualArt". www.mutualart.com. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  35. ↑ ""10 Year Anniversary" Group Exhibition | 3 - 31 August 2024". Hashimoto Contemporary. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  36. ↑ "Detroit Institute of Arts presents Printmaking in the Twenty-First Century An exhibition celebrating contemporary printmakers, from the year 2000 to 2022 | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum". dia.org. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  37. ↑ "The Detroiter". heronarts.com. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  38. ↑ Leonardo, Kathy (2014-04-17). "Saturday, May 17, 2014". LA Art Party. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  39. ↑ Ebert, Grace (2025-09-09). "In Rural Wisconsin, Pat Perry Connects the Various Forces That Shape Our World". Colossal. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  40. ↑ "Erie County Witness Tree Map". Buffalo AKG Art Museum. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  41. ↑ "PIPA Landing | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum". dia.org. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
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