Meet St. Petersburg-based artist LeRoy ‘King of Art’

Artist Paul LeRoy Gehres works under a variety of personas, including LeRoy Picasso, Lucky LeRoy and Lonesome LeRoy. “LeRoy” is attached to whomever is being referenced in the work, which often depicts celebrities, artists and political figures.The prolific artist, 61, is a popular presence at The Factory St. Pete. It’s a fitting location for the artist’s studio, whose work is inspired in part by Andy Warhol, the pop artist who worked out of an iconic New York City studio called The Factory.Gehres appreciates the built-in audience at The Factory St. Pete and said the work has more exposure and discussion than ever before.“You know, it’s been really good here,” Gehres said.Gehres prefers to be identified by the pronoun “we,” which is fitting for one alias, LeRoy “King of Art.” The moniker King of Art came at a time when Michael Jackson was King of Pop. It’s also a play on the name LeRoy, which in French is le roi and means “the king.”With the artist’s various personas come impersonations, especially of Warhol. Gehres used to dress up as him and, with friends, visit the late artist’s grave in Pennsylvania and make art there. Warhol-esque paintings and prints of celebrities are made under the moniker LeRoy More Hole.“More” is a common theme with Gehres. There is an astounding amount and breadth of work in the artist’s St. Petersburg studio. A melange of photos, paintings and textiles is layered and tacked up on a wall. Everywhere you look, there are bins of paintings and spray-painted postcards depicting celebrities, local personalities, artists and political figures.One of the most remarkable things about Gehres’ work is what close attention is paid to current events and pop culture. The latest headlines are printed onto fabric, often about events that happened the same day.Kara Behar, founder of The Factory St. Pete, said Gehres is “the epitome of keeping up with the media.”Gehres considers the work a form of journalism, a teaching moment called Collecting the Smear Since 1961. Inspiration came from living through the birth of the 24-hour news cycle.Bold statements are made with the work, like the installation at The Factory St. Pete that asks to “undo whiteness,” inspired by the death of George Floyd. The messaging presents differing sides — a banner reads Defund the Police and Defend the Police. And there are messages asking us to forgive controversial political figures.Gehres said the piece is about love and change.The primary-colored polka dots of the Wonder Bread logo permeate the installation, and Gehres wears a matching T-shirt.Gehres explained that the outfit is to draw attention to the fact that whiteness isn’t branded “and people need to say it’s something because that’s the change.”Another green installation addresses climate change and features images of activists including Greta Thunberg. Gehres dressed up in gear to match each of the projects.Incorporating current events into the work came from thinking about what Warhol would be doing if he were alive today. Gehres’ pieces include an homage to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, one that reflects on the torture at Abu Ghraib and another that includes images from the U.S. border. Those works are not for sale.Gehres sees that as a duty.“It’s a Warhol thing,” Gehres said. “It’s hard to take in all this tragedy and then turn it into art.”Originally from Pennsylvania, Gehres holds an associate’s degree in fashion illustration from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (1982), a bachelor’s of fine art from The Cooper Union in New York City (1986) and a master’s of fine art from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2006).Warhol was still alive while Gehres was in New York at The Cooper Union, but the two never met. Gehres wasn’t influenced by Warhol then, instead focusing on photography and filmmaking.Gehres became “obsessed” with celebrities when Anna Wintour started putting them on the cover of Vogue , around the late 1980s. This inspired Shoe Prints, Gehres’ drawings of famous faces on various shoe styles. To date, there are thousands of them.After graduating, Gehres started an illustration business under the moniker LeRoy “King of Art.” The illustrations have appeared in The New York Times , Interview and The Village Voice . Drawings were made to illustrate event listings in The New Yorker .Gehres’ work has been exhibited around the world, including at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and in the Pittsburgh Biennial in 2011.Gehres designed for fashion designer Anna Sui for about 10 years. The artist’s design for Sui’s 2004 collection adorned a T-shirt modeled by Naomi Campbell. The design was revived for Sui’s 2022 Spring collection.Gehres moved to St. Petersburg in 2012 to be close to family. Among the places Gehres’ work has been shown locally are the Morean Arts Center, Woodfield Fine Art, ArtPool, the Tampa Museum of Art and Mize Gallery.Steven Cohen is one of Gehres’ collectors. They met in New York in 1987 when Cohen hired Gehres as an assistant at a design agency.“I saw this young genius,” he said. Cohen said Gehres was always “inventing and creating” artwork between jobs.To Cohen, Gehres is the “next Warhol” because of how conceptual the work is. He owns a countless amount of the artist’s pieces. He finds Gehres’ work to always be fresh.Whether depicting celebrities, artists or political figures, there will be more than a few you’ll have to Google, which Cohen said is Gehres’ way of teaching a lesson.“The homework is for you to go and take it even further,” Cohen said. ”It’s very interesting. It’s always this deep meaning.”Gehres recently made a giant Chanel-style suit from yards of fabric inherited from Cohen’s late brother and plans to make skirts from the fabric. A new persona based on Karl Lagerfeld, the longtime designer for Chanel, has been adopted.Gehres is in the studio at The Factory St. Pete (2622 Fairfield Ave. S) from 6 to 9 p.m. the first two weeks of each month and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. the second two weeks of each month, and monthly for Second Saturday Art Walk. Call ahead to arrange a studio visit at 727-200-4086. For more information, visit leroy.land .

Meet St. Petersburg-based artist LeRoy ‘King of Art’

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