Stephen Tompkins

Who is Stephen Tompkins?

Stephen Tompkins is an American artist, animator, and composer based in Southern California. He grew up in Avon Lake, Ohio, near Cleveland. His work is associated with the 'Hardcore' Pop Surrealism movement

Tompkins' work has been exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the United States and Europe since 1997. His work was exhibited in BLK/MRKT Gallery's Artist Annual in 2007.

His work has been exhibited alongside such artists as Daniel Johnston in a two-man exhibit titled "The Art of Daniel Johnston and Stephen Tompkins" and Ron English and Steven Hopwood-Lewis.

His work has appeared in publications including LA Weekly, Raw Vision Magazine, Monopol Magazin, New American Paintings and Juxtapoz. Some of his work was published in the book BLK/MRKT TWO by Die Gestalten Verlag and in Year One Rewind, a survey of urban and graffiti art by Last Gasp Press.

His animated short, Gummymorph, appears in the film Freak Out in Cucamonga, a documentary about the early studio years of Frank Zappa. In February 2009, he released a Digital-8 collection of 13 music videos that he directed, filmed and produced of Daniel Johnston filmed in Johnston's hometown of Waller, Texas. The videos and MP3s were released as digital downloads under the name "Daniel Johnston at Home LIVE."