Stu Mead
Stuart "Stu" Mead is an American artist who lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Work. In April, 2004 a group exhibition called "When Love Turns to Poison" was held at the Kunstraum Bethanien in Berlin, showing, among other works by Mead, the painting "First Communion," which was destroyed during the exhibition by a religion-obsessed vandal. The exhibition of eight artists became a national scandal, with conservative newspapers declaring it pornographic and non-art. Controversy also developed around an exhibition of Mead's work at Hyaena Gallery in Burbank, California in 2008, when four artists associated with the  gallery left it in protest against Mead's exhibition. In 2009 Mead participated in the exhibition loop "Öffentliche Erregung" (Public Arousal), at loop – raum für aktuelle kunst Berlin, Germany Berlin, Germany Group exhibition that dealt specifically with the gray zone where art approaches the pornographic. In 2010 Mead's work was included in a large exhibition at Villa Merkel/Bahnwarterhaus in Esslingen, Germany called "Family Jewels", in which artist Damien Deroubaix presented a family tree of the artists who have influenced his work.