Hermann Mejía


Hermann Mejía is a Venezuelan–American painter and sculptor known for his work for Mad magazine. He was named by HuffPost as "one of 15 famous Venezuelan artists to know".

Early life

Hermann Mejía started drawing at a young age. He started collecting comics at age 13, and received his first artist's commission at 15, painting promotional graffiti for musical acts in Caracas. He studied illustration and painting at the Caracas Design Institute. After graduating, he started his career in fine arts with numerous exhibitions in his native Venezuela, both collective and solo. Growing recognition as a vanguard artist landed him a commission to design a series of Venezuelan postage stamps commemorating Pope John Paul II in 1996.

Career

Mejía is a prolific artist with a long career of solo and collective exhibitions of both paintings and sculptures, mostly in South America but also in the U.S. His style and technique have been linked to many influences including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, the surrealists, and street art. In addition to his artistic career, he has successfully ventured into comic art and commercial art.
Upon having won the first prize in a sequential art contest, Mejia was awarded a trip to New York City, where he met artist George Pratt, who had been one of the Judges of the contest. Pratt took Mejía to the offices of DC Comics, where Mejía was offered a job almost instantly. Through DC, Mejía met Charlie Kochman, Publishing Editor for both DC, which included the satirical humor magazine Mad. Mejía received his first assignment for the April 1997 issue.

Mejía worked for the New York-based Mad magazine while still living in Venezuela during the next two years. In 1999 Mejía moved to the United States. He received a "Best in Magazine Feature" Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 2003.
Mejia works in his studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn, New York.

Selected exhibits