"Inspired by Degas, I document contemporary events like a 'Victorian-age' paparazzi. I enjoy using traditional and digital media to craft images that appear to transcend the two-dimensional picture plane."
Forged by Detroit, Overton Loyd has toured throughout the US and abroad with renowned funk/rock band, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, designing multi-media stage shows, costumes, and album covers. He's known for his character designs in Clinton's award-winning animated music video, Atomic Dog. In 1987, he was the featured caricaturist on the American television game show, Win, Lose or Draw. In 2011, Overton received a Fellowship residency at Civitella Ranieri.
The works presented here are expressed in a variety of styles, including loose pen and ink drawings and mixed media paintings.
Overton's artwork envisions P-Funkaesthetic as modern mythology and continues to inspire patrons in private collections worldwide.
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Artist Statement
“I exist to elevate, empower and connect us to the world in which we live.”
Art not only breaks through the BS—it shifts our consciousness, flips paradigms, enhances our humanity, and offers direct access to the eternal.
Whether addressing societal and cultural issues with humor and pathos or deconstructing the id, I aspire to spark the imagination and ignite aliveness by distinguishing the extraordinary nature of ordinary existence.
I aspire to draw, and paint daFunk outta people!
Sketching at the speed of life with a simple ball point pen, I use Expressionism, Afro–Futurism, Genre themes, and Bop Art to transform the norm.
If the rhythm of vision is a dancer, I live to capture the rhythm of life.
Selected Exhibitions
2018
"How the West Got Funked Up!," William Grant Stills Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
2016
"Rhythm of Vision," Solo Retrospective, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2011
Received Civitella Ranieri Fellowship Residency
2007
"Cinco," Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Canceptual," Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"The Love Show," M.J. Higgins Gallery
2006
"Top of the Dome," Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"The Hidden Futures," Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"2nd Anniversary Show,” M.J. Higgins Gallery
2005
"Revolutions," Forrest Lawn Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"Small Wonders," Pharmaka Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Black is Beautiful,” M.J. Higgins Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Old Bank District Artwalk," Los Angeles, CA
2004
2002
"The Art of Funk," San Francisco, CA
"Bridges to Freedom," Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo, CA
2001
1996
1992
Selected Performance Art:
2003
1997
1995
1993
1991
Selected Private Collections:
- Ned Beatty
- Harlan Ellison
- Martin Mull
- Martin Sheen
- Quincy Jones
- Reginald Hudlin
