Lucky LeRoy
1961-Present
I have to [make art] even if I don’t get paid and nobody wants it.
I love doing it. I do it all the time
Biography
Lucky LeRoy (b. 1961), who has also been known as LeRoy “King of Art”, LeRoy Picasso, Lonesome LeRoy, and LeRoy More Hole, and Paul LeRoy Gehres, is a Saint Petersburg-based queer artist exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and morality through vibrant, self-referential, and often humorous works in a wide array of media. LeRoy has contributed to over 100 gallery exhibitions since 1994, has had illustrations published in Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine and The New Yorker, and has worked extensively alongside fashion designer Anna Sui. Lucky LeRoy is originally from Greenville, PA. They earned their Associate’s Degree in Fashion Illustration from the Arts Institute of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they immersed themselves in the city’s queer art and drag scenes. LeRoy went on to complete their BFA in Studio Art at the Cooper Union in New York City in 1986, and their MFA from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA. Drawn to the Tampa Bay Area’s cityscape, nature, and coast, LeRoy relocated to Saint Petersburg in 2013, where they currently operate out of LEROYLAND at The Factory St. Pete, an artists’ space on FloridaRAMA’s campus.
Lucky LeRoy’s playful persona and body of work pay homage to Pittsburgh Pop-Artist Andy Warhol. The artist has also named Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Prince as additional sources of inspiration. LeRoy cites art as “the basis of [their] mental health,” stating “When I’m making my art I’m just completely at ease and it’s where I always want to be.” Fittingly, LeRoy’s LEROYLAND artworks comprise a diverse and unique collection of mediums, from figure drawings, spray and drip paintings, and screen prints, to quilts, shoe prints, and abstract smears.
Works
Exhibitions
Hot Hot Heat · 8/22 - 11/21/26
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1994
Stonewall 25, White Columns Gallery, NY, NY. Curated by Bill Arning.
Sex/Industry, Stefan Stux Gallery, NY, NY. Curated by John Yau.
No Small Feat: Investigations of the Shoe in Contemporary Art, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, IL. Curated by Monique Meloche.
1996
I Love Your Shoes, Your Hair Looks Great, MTV Green Room, NY, NY.
Curated by Bronwyn Keenon.The Most Important Thing in the World, The Art Exchange, NY, NY. Curated by Bill Arning.
1997
The Devil Won’t Let Me Sleep, The New York Gay and Lesbian Film Festival,
NY, NY. A documentary about LeRoy “King of Art” directed and produced by Tim Smyth.Home Is Where The Heart Is, Gay & Lesbian Family Values, White Columns, NY, NY. Curated by Dr. Cassandra Langer.
Styles and Aesthetics, La Mama La Galleria, NY, NY.
1999
Young Guns 2, The Art Directors Club, NY, NY.
Edifying Sappho and Socrates, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Curated by Rafael von Uslar.
2000
SURRENDER, I wanna give you devotion, Nimm hin es ist mein Geist und Sinn, AEROPLASTICS Contemporary, Brussels, Belgium.
Ode aan de goden, Zone 5300, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2001
Charles McGill’s "Playing Through" Site specific photography/video performance collaboration with Artist Charles McGill golfing through Harlem, NY, NY.
2002
Not Without Laughter, Gallery M, NY, NY. Curated by Tod Roulette.
2004
The Sprout Fund Juried Show, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.
Tom Sokolowski, Juror.She Sells Sea Shells, Barbara Ann Levy Gallery, Fire Island, NY
2005
Holla Back Exclamation Points: Finding Humor in the Darkness of the Gay 90’s, Robert Shaw Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA.
Engendered Species, Gatov and Merlino Galleries, California State University, Long Beach, CA.
National Psyche Pandora Box DVD Collection, The LAB, San Francisco, CA. Curated and developed by Elliot Lessing.
Go Figure, Panza Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
Carnivalesque A Grim Guignol, Digging Pitt Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
Graduate Art Association Annual Student Exhibit, Indiana University Museum, Indiana, PA. Chakaia Booker, Juror.
2006
i~~we: i is not not we, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana PA.
Points of View, Graduate Art Association Annual Student Exhibit, Indiana University Museum, Indiana PA. Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Juror.
2007
Work and Pray: The Quilt Show, Gallery M, NY, NY. Curated by Tod Roulette.
Face Control, La Vie Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
Andy Warhol’s Dead, Wax Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
Lush Life, Digging Pitt Gallery, Pittsburgh PA.
Funny Business, Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
2008
Paid Sick Days, Panza Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
2009
Lonesome LeRoy as Little Evie Sedgwick in remembrance of Eve Kofosky Sedgwick,
Brillo Box Discotheque, Pittsburgh, PA.
2009 - 2021
Conversations with Andy, A documentary of visitors to Andy Warhol’s Grave by Madelyn Roehrig, Pittsburgh, PA, Beaufort, SC and St. Petersburg, FL
2010
Statue of Anne 1710, Installation Art by Lady LeRoy “The Dowager King” The Waiting Room, Panza Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
Alphabet Art: A Juried Exhibition of Queer Artists, The Music City Sisters, Nashville, TN.
Found on Facebook, Arthur M. Berger Art Gallery, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY.
Curated by Charles McGill.
2011
I’m a Lover Not a Fighter, The 2011 Pittsburgh Biennial, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts,
Pittsburgh, PA. Curated by Eric Shiner, Dan Byers, Astria Suparak and Adam Welsh.Save A Million Dollars for Retirement, Westmoreland Community College, Youngwood, PA.
Curated by Christine KosavarBIG BOOBS: A Gay Man Celebrates The Female Form, Panza Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA.
The Sketchbook Project, The Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY.
Celebrate Life, Celebrate Art, August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA.
DoubleTakes: The Salvadore Dali Look-alike Contest, The Salvadore Dali Museum, St Petersburg, FL.
2012
What’s Up Pittsburgh? Clarion University Art Gallery, Clarion, PA.
Uncensored: Queer Art and the Church, Leslie Lohman Annex, New York, NY.
2013
5X5, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL.
Black & White Ball, Featured Artist, Artpool Gallery, St Petersburg, FL.
The 2 Minute Film Festival, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA.
Juried Exhibit, SUNTAN Art Center, Pass-A-Grille, FL.
2014
Art of Dog, Morean Art Center, St Petersburg, FL.
2015
Figure Drawing Exchange, Morean Art Center, St Petersburg, FL.
2016
RIP Pinky, Woodfield Fine Art, St Petersburg, FL.
GSP Artist Showcase, GSP Fine Art, Clearwater, FL.
2017
The World of Anna Sui, The Fashion and Textile Museum, London, UK.
Postcards from the Edge, Metro Pictures, NY, N.Y.
Figure Drawing Exhibition, Eckerd College, St Petersburg, FL.
2018
MOD, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL.
Best Hair Contest, Mink Rancher, Auburn, NY.
Mail Art Show, Casa Museo Boschi Di Stefano, Milan, Italy.
Post Secret, Community Mail Art Project, Germantown, MD.
Visions, Crowder College, Cassville, MO.
Antifluxis, Moan Lisa, Atlantic Beach, FL.
Randomize, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL.
Members Show, Morean Art Center, St Petersburg, FL.
Figure Drawing Exhibition, Morean Art Center, St Petersburg, FL.
Lady Madonna, Heronimus Bosch Art Center, Chaam, Netherlands.
Loss, 1-3-5-7 Projects, San Francisco, CA.
2019
Roles of Engagement, Marcia Jeffries: Aquarius, Morean Art Center, St Petersburg, FL.
Thursday Night Live: Figure Drawing at Eckerd College, Elliott Gallery, St Petersburg, FL.
Presents for Jonas Mekas, Microscope Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
Mailmania, Victoria, BC, Canada
Who Knew Michael Voo Doo? IUOMA, Lake Park, FL.
Travel Show, Lake Worth Historical Museum, Lake Worth, FL.
The World of Anna Sui, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
The Postal Museum, Hawkinge, Kent, UK.
MINI, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL.
Visual Aids Postcards From The Edge 2019, Bortolami, New York, NY.
No Glitter Allowed, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY.
ICONS, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL.
Errors, Fakes and Oddities, New Hamshire Institute of Art, Peterborough, NH.
2020
Culture as a Dare Festival, Southend-on-Sea, UK
Vision 20/20, California Flux Fest, Westminister, CA
Alpha Mail, Camby, IN
Visual Poetry After Covid-19, Milano, IT
FemailArt: 2020 Postcard Exhibition, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Don't Ask, Do Tell, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL
FLOWER POWER, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL
TV Show, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL
Marginal Stamps, DADA Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Visual Aids Postcards from the Edge 2020, Bortolami, New York, NY.
The World of Anna Sui, the Modern Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2021
The Factory Gallery, Opening Exhibit, Curated by Ashley Rivers, The Factory St Pete, St Petersburg Florida
The World of Anna Sui, NSU Art Museum, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Visual Aids NYC, Postcards from the Edge 2021 (Virtual)
Floppy Disk, Geislingen an der Steige, Germany
Artists for a Better World, Honoring Artists, Los Angeles, CA
Neighborhoods, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL
Rainbow, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL
So Cute, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, FL
2022
The Worked Shoot, Curated by Emiliano Settecasi, Department of Contemporary Art, Tampa, Florida
Brooklyn Art Library/The Sketchbook Project, St Petersburg, Florida
Figure Drawing at Eckerd: Works by Off-Campus Artists, Elliott Gallery, St Petersburg, Florida
Black is Beautiful, The Factory Gallery, Curated by Carla Bristol, The Factory Gallery, St Petersburg Florida
Camp@Clamp, ClampArt Gallery, New York, NY
Robot Exchange, The Factory Gallery, Curated by Zulu Painter and Arillius Artist, The Factory Gallery, St Petersburg, Florida
Jack Kerouac's 100th Birthday, Studio 620, St Petersburg, Florida
Irascibles, Curated by Raheem Fitzgerald, The Factory Gallery, St Petersburg, Florida
SAY GAY FLORIDA!, Mize Gallery, St Petersburg, Florida
2023
The Illuminating Gaze, Fairgrounds St Pete, St Petersburg, Florida
Andy Warhol's Birthday, Floridian Theater, Featuring Warhol's Tombstone Earthcam, St Petersburg, Florida
Beatlemania, Curated by Mocha Luke, The Studio at Public House, St Petersburg, Florida
Pop Art, Curated by Raheem Fitzgerald, The Factory Gallery, St Petersburg, Florida
Hot Box, SPACE, Curated by Chad Mize, St Petersburg, Florida
Poetic Portals, Curated by Jason Harvin, Wayworld, St Petersburg, Florida
City Within A City, Curated by Hao Penghe, Grounded Gallery, Gulfport, Florida
Erotic Art, The Hive, Gulfport, Florida
2024
Hashtag Florida Famous: a one we show, FloridaRAMA Gallery, The Factory, St Petersburg, Florida
Grand Opening Show, The Ethereal, St Petersburg, Florida
BLISS, Curated by Chad Mize, FloridaRAMA Gallery, The Factory, St Petersburg, Florida
Visual Aids, Postcards From The Edge, Berry Campbell Gallery and Online, New York, NY
Mail Art in and from the Museum of Sacred Scripture, Schriftmuseum Bartlhaus, Pettenbach, Austria
2025
LeRoy's Enriched Uranium & The NuQueer Bomb, Anarchive Magazine, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Andy Warhol's Birthday Party, FloridaRAMA, The Factory, Sy Petersburg, Florida
Visual Aids, Postcards From The Edge, Berry Campbell Gallery and Online, New York, NY
2026
Prayer of Peace for the World, Rose of Lima Church, Kenyon, Minnesota
Visual Aids, Postcards From The Edge, Berry Campbell Gallery and Online, New York, NY
Tribute to Michael Jackson, The Factory Gallery, St Petersburg, Florida
Press
MediaBurn Recording 1989
Interview produced by Pam Lewis and Zed Armstrong for Pittsburgh Community Television (PCTV).
PSInside Interview 2010
Interview published on pages 10-11 entitled “In Touch with... Paul LeRoy Gehres AKA LeRoy ‘King of Art’ MFA”
Tampa Bay Times 2022
Article written by Maggie Duffy entitled “Meet St. Petersburg-based Artist LeRoy ‘King of Art’”