Born in 1983 in Louisville, KY, Gee Horton is a Cincinnati-based artist, whose practice explores portraiture, memory, and cultural narrative. His highly detailed photorealistic drawings examine the complexities of Black identity, adolescence, and emotional inheritance, weaving personal and collective histories into visual reflections on resilience, vulnerability, and self-discovery.
In 2020, Horton, a self-taught artist, made the transformative decision to leave his corporate career and fully embrace his artistic calling. That same year, Horton initiated the Coming-of-Age chapter series of portrait drawings, received ArtsWave’s Truth and Reconciliation Grant, and launched The Baobab Project—a conceptual extension of the series designed as a reflective space for Black men to explore vulnerability and coming-of-age experiences through visual storytelling. His work has since garnered national acclaim, featured on HBO’s Insecure and Amazon Prime’s Harlem. He received an Emmy Award for his residency at The Mercantile Library of Cincinnati, where he created a monumental portrait of Black abolitionist Peter H. Clark, the library’s first African American member.
Horton's large-scale drawings, executed in charcoal and graphite, serve as meditations on Black masculinity and psychological landscapes. His 2021 debut exhibition at Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery examined African American adolescence through the lens of hip-hop and contemporary culture. The exhibition featured hyper-realistic portraits of his teenage nephew and niece, reflecting the formative influences and cultural expectations of being young and Black in America. Through this deeply personal lens, the work became a healing process for Horton—one that illuminated the vulnerability of youth while celebrating their strength.
In 2024, Horton’s Chapter Two: A Subtle Farewell to the Inner Child, presented as part of the FotoFocus Biennial at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, expanded this narrative. Through photography, collage, drawings, and film, the exhibition invited viewers to engage in dialogue about identity and healing. His third solo exhibition, Chapter Three: Be Home Before the Streetlights, opens at KMAC Contemporary Art Museum in November 2024. Divided into two sections—The Great Outdoors and Ova Granny’s House—the exhibition explores generational memory, safety, and belonging, drawing on family archives and collective memory to create an immersive experience.
Beyond the gallery, Horton redefines public art as a site of communal reflection and empowerment. His Coming of Age mural series, commissioned for the 2022 Blink Festival, includes three large-scale contemporary artworks that span three blocks of Vine Street in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine district. These murals celebrate the Black experience and address youth vulnerability, transforming the cityscape and redefining public art as a powerful tool for empowerment and change.
Horton describes his work as “an intimate tapestry woven from deeply personal threads—lived experiences, wisdom, and spiritual revelations.” His artistic practice was profoundly shaped by a 2022 residency with Diasporic Soul in Senegal, where he engaged in healing traditions that continue to inform his exploration of lineage, identity, and generational repair.
His work is held in prestigious collections, including The Cincinnati Art Museum and The Mercantile Library. In 2023, he was named to the Cincinnati Business Courier’s 40 Under 40 list. Horton holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Louisville, grounding his practice in deep insights into psychosocial development, intergenerational trauma, and collective healing.
In 2024, Horton was recognized as a Creative Ohio Semi-Finalist for CreativeOhio’s Champion Advocacy Awards and honored by CODA Summit as a 2025 Creative Revolutionary. His short film, Be Home Before the Streetlights—a cinematic extension of his exhibition trilogy—was awarded into the 2025 OTR International Film Festival, marking a pivotal moment in his expansion into narrative film and storytelling.
Horton is also the founder and owner of Gee Horton Studio Gallery, located in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine district. More than a workspace, the gallery serves as a creative hub for artists, a platform for exhibitions, and the headquarters for his fine art in-house printing service, which provides museum-quality prints for local artists and ships to collectors globally. This space is an extension of Horton’s mission—to create, cultivate, and elevate artistic voices while fostering deeper engagement with storytelling and visual culture.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Contemporary Artist
Born in Louisville, Kentucky
Lives and works in Cincinnati, Ohio
Education
2008 — Master of Social Work, University of Louisville
2006 — Bachelor of Psychology, Thomas More College
Solo Exhibitions
2024 — Chapter three: Be Home Before the Streetlights, KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky
2024 — Chapter two: A Subtle Farewell to the Inner Child, Kennedy Heights Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
2022 — Coming of Age: New Acquisition Exhibit, The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
2021 — Chapter One: Coming of Age The Alice F. & Harris K. Art Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Group Exhibitions
2024 — Proximity of Fate, Mansfield Art Center, Mansfield, Ohio
2023 — The Inner Child, Koik Contemporary Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
2023 — Ohio Voices, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
2022 — Let’s Grow, Alpha Arts Alliance, Brooklyn, New York
2020 — Truth & Reconciliation, The National Underground Railroad Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 — Black & Brown Faces, The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 — Uprising, The Kennedy Heights Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 — Not for Sale, The Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
2019 — Banz Studios Presents, Banz Studios Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2019 — Behind the Art, The Root Gallery, New Albany, Indiana
2019 — Manifestations of Time, The Mohawk Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Public Art Projects & Commissions
2024— Blink Lights Festival 2024, Cincinnati, Ohio
2022— Orange Barrel Media Presents Gee Horton, Atlanta, GA, Detroit, MI, Los Angeles, CA
2021 — Amazon Prime, “Harlem” Artwork Television Appearance – Season 1, Episode 11
2021 — Coming of Age Mural at Court Street Plaza, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 — The Cincinnati Music Fest Outdoor Art Museum at Washington Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 — The Black Lives Matter! Mural at The City Hall of Cincinnati, Ohio
Collections
2022 — The Cincinnati Art Museum
2021 — The Mercantile Library of Cincinnati
2021 — The Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell Collection
Residencies
2022 — Diasporic Soul, Artist in Residence, (Month of July), Sebikhotane, Senegal West Africa
2021 — The Mercantile Library of Cincinnati, Artist in Residence – Peter H. Clark Portrait (Commission)
Professional Affiliations
2019 - 2024 Artworks Cincinnati, Board of Trustee, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 - 2023 Wavepool, Board of Trustee, Cincinnati, Ohio
2020 - 2022 Urban Consulate Host, Cincinnati, Ohio