Mead Shares His Extensive Cindy Sherman Collection in Current Exhibition

Three decades after Gerald Mead, ’85, ’86, won a Cindy Sherman electrostatic print at an afterparty celebrating Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center’s 20th anniversary, he has become a serious collector of the iconic photographer and former Buffalo State University student’s work.

Now the public has the chance to see Mead’s collection of 23 Sherman artworks spanning five decades at the Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts (CEPA) Gallery, 617 Main Street, Suite 201, in downtown Buffalo. A Cindy Sherman Retrospective: Works from the Gerald Mead Collection is part of a trio of exhibitions titled Mythologies of Identity, which “illustrate how visuals play a role in personal agency and empowerment in gender expression.” The exhibition runs through April 22.

“Arguably, Cindy Sherman is one of the most significant artists to start their career in Buffalo,” said Mead, an artist, art collector, curator, and lecturer emeritus of art and design at Buffalo State. “She’s made a substantial impact on the international art world over the years.”

Mead will conduct a collector’s tour on Saturday, April 1, at 1:00 p.m. at the gallery, where he will provide insights into Sherman’s works.

“Many of her pieces have such interesting stories,” Mead said. “And some were even created when she was a student at Buffalo State.”

Sherman, who attended Buffalo State from 1972 to 1976, originally intended to become a painter—until she met Barbara Jo Revelle, an assistant professor of photography and film at Buffalo State at the time. Revelle opened Sherman’s eyes to what art could be and how to use photography as a vehicle for artistic expression, Mead explained.

“Cindy has publicly acknowledged Barbara and how this critical change in her thinking launched her career,” he said.

Mead’s expansive art collection extends far beyond Cindy Sherman. Over the years, he has acquired more than 1,700 works by artists associated with Western New York by birth or residency. His love for art and art collecting stems from a childhood immersed in art.

One of 11 children of a paper company president and an artist, Mead grew up in Boston, New York, in a house filled with his mother’s watercolors and also works of artists she studied with.

“My mother was a watercolorist, but she also did stained glass, porcelain doll painting, and made quilts,” Mead said. “The art was in a constant rotation. Art was a bond we shared.”

Mead majored in psychology at Buffalo State but said he didn’t feel the passion for the subject he saw in his professors. He started taking art and design electives and found his way to fiber art and textile design, earning a second bachelor’s degree in design. He went on to earn a master of fine arts in visual studies at the University at Buffalo and has made a name for himself as an artist as well as a collector.

Mead’s own artwork, primarily small-scale collages constructed from photographic materials and found objects, is included in the permanent collections of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright-Knox Art Gallery), the Burchfield Penney Art Center, and the George Eastman Museum, among many others.

Soon after graduating from Buffalo State, Mead was hired by the Burchfield Penney as its volunteer and special events coordinator.

“That led to an 18-year career as a curator and an invitation to teach at Buffalo State,” said Mead, who recently retired after 35 years with the university.

In 1987, Mead acquired his first work of art by the artist Rosario Provenza, who was exhibiting at the Burchfield Penney. It was a gift from a docent who wanted to help Provenza and share his work with others. From there, Mead began exchanging his work with other artists and purchasing art from studios, galleries, and auctions.

“I didn’t think of myself as an art collector unless I had at least 100 works; it was kind of an arbitrary number for me,” said Mead, who reached that point within six years of collecting. “In my home, like the home I grew up in, I wanted to surround myself with the artistry and talents of my fellow artists—ones who proceeded me, my peers, and younger, emerging artists.”

He has since lent his art to galleries, community centers, and colleges and universities in some 70 exhibitions, often matching his loans with the venue’s location and mission. This includes 30 pieces created by Buffalo State faculty and alumni on loan to Buffalo State’s LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center since it opened in 2018.

“Eventually, that loan will become a gift,” said Mead, adding that he is in the process of talking to other institutions to identify works for promised bequest gifts.

“My approach to privately collecting is very ‘museological,’ but I’m also collecting with the intention that these works will eventually enhance the public collections they are gifted to,” Mead said. “I consider myself a temporary caretaker for this work. As an artist myself, it’s a unique perspective, putting things out in the world, hoping that someone cares for them and appreciates them.”

Top photo: Cindy Sherman, Untitled (Lucy), 1975/2001

All artwork copyright of Cindy Sherman, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth, from the collection of Gerald Mead.

Photo of Gerald Mead by Nick Butler.