Ian King

Multidisciplinary Artist & Community Organizer

b. February 6, 2000, Belleville, NJ

Based in Harrison, NJ

Education

2018-22

BFA in Illustration, Minor in Communication Arts

St. Johnʼs University, Queens, NY

3.90 GPA, Summa cum laude, in cursu honorum

Professional Experience

2022-

Graphic Designer

Legal Services of New Jersey, Edison, NJ

Selected Exhibitions

2025

• Heartfelt Gallery, Group show, Art on the Ave, New York, NY (curated by Ashley Offor and Gracie Vanderlaan)
• Art for Pride, Group show, Ria x Gallery, Upper Montclair, NJ (curated by Out Montclair, Ria x Gallery, and Keep Creating Art Wellness Center)
• The Good Neighbor, Group show, LIC Arts Open Festival Hub at 43-01 21st St., Queens, NY (curated by Raluca Anchidin)
• First Impressions, Group show, ART150 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ (curated by Nanette Reynolds Beachner)

2024

• Newark Arts Festival: Radical Reimagining @ 33 Wash, Group show, 33 Washington Street, Newark, NJ (curated by Adrienne Wheeler)
• Archeology of Memory, Group show, Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, NJ (curated by Tris McCall, author and critic, and P.E. Pinkman, Director, Watchung Arts Center)
• Art All Day 2024, Group show, Artworks, Trenton, NJ
• 2024 New Jersey Arts Annual: Exploring Our Connections, Group show, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ (curated by Todd Caissie, Director, New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum, Minto, NB, Canada; Kimberly Callas; and Philemona Williamson)
• Collective Impressions, Group show with the Art Association of Rutherford, Johnson Public Library, Hackensack, NJ

2023

• Trauma-in-Place, Juried group show, Eastern Kentucky University Fred Parker Giles Gallery, Richmond, KY (Juror: Azucena Trejo Williams, Associate Professor, Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, KY)
• S L O W S E L F I E, Group show, Novado Gallery, Jersey City, NJ (curated by Anne Novado, Owner, Novado Gallery, Jersey City, NJ)
• Visceral Bodies, Group show, Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ (curated by Juno Zago, Creative Director, Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ)
• Radical Love, Group show, Eclipse Center for Creative Community, Lansdale, PA (curated by Kaitlyn Coppens, Gallerist and Curator, Eclipse Center for Creative Community, Lansdale, PA)
• 36th Annual Juried Exhibition, The Art Alliance of Monmouth County, Red Bank, NJ, Honorable Mention (Juror: Robinson Holloway, Founder and Executive Director, Arts 14C, Jersey City, NJ)
• Essex County Civil Lights: LGBTQ+ Art Exhibit, Group show, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Building, Newark, NJ (curated by Rafael Cuello, Creative Director, OUT Agency, Newark, NJ)

2022

• Of Yesterday For Tomorrow, BFA Thesis group show, Yeh Art Gallery, Queens, NY (advised by Alex Morel, Professor, and Elizabeth Albert, Associate Professor, St. John’s University, Queens, NY)

Residencies, Grants & Awards

2024

Summer 2024 Arts Residency Program

SMUSH Gallery, Jersey City, NJ

2022-2024

Studio Residency

Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ

2023

2022 Creative Catalyst Fund

City of Newark Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs & Newark Arts, Newark, NJ

Press

2024

“The Intimate Vignettes of the New Jersey Arts Annual,” Greta Rainbow, Hyperallergic, November 11

“Arts Annual at Montclair Art Museum puts hopeful spin on ‘Exploring Our Connections’ theme,” Tris McCall, NJarts.net, October 29

2023

“In ‘Slow Selfie’ at Novado Gallery, Artists Turn to Face Themselves," Tris McCall, Jersey City Times, September 22

Lectures

2023

“Summer Show Artist Talk,” panelist with Ken Weathersby, Judy Giera, Robert Richardson, Jackie Skrzynski, Christine Sauerteig-Pilaar, Kerry Kolenut, & Aurora Powell, Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ, August 12

Lecture/Presentation, Undergraduate Thesis Critiques, Department of Art and Design, St. John’s University, Queens, NY, February 22

2022

“Don’t Let ‘Em Get You Convinced!: Deconstructing Ideologies About Poverty” with Amy Ackel, Julia Betancourt, & Andrea Ríos

I’m Finna Talk presents We Finna Celebrate, Queens Museum, Queens, NY, October 22

“Behind the Free Store: Understanding Radical Love and Mutual Aid,” Living in Pandemonium: Academic Spaces & Pandemic Life, with Amy Ackel, Julia Betancourt, Grace Greer, & Njemile Wickham

St. John’s University English Graduate Student Conference, Queens, NY, April 1

Organizational Memberships

2025-

Food Not Bombs, Jersey City, NJ

Administrator

New Jersey Queer and Trans Makers Market

Graphic Design and Event Volunteer

2022-2025

Art Association of Rutherford, Rutherford, NJ

Social Media Chair (2023 - 2024)

Board Trustee (2025)

2021-2023

Radical Love Free Store, Queens, NY

Co-Organizer