Alan Gerson is an artist and recovering attorney. He received a Bachelors degree in philosophy from Boston University in 1974 and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans in 1980; from 1980 to 1985 he was the visual arts director of the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.

In 1989 he received a law degree from Tulane University and practiced law for three long years until he wised up and returned to being an artist. He has had numerous one person shows in New Orleans, New York, Santa Fe, Miami, and Pasadena. He has participated in group shows nationally and internationally; and he was an award winning participant in the Florence Biennal in 2000. His work is in the New Orleans Museum of Art as well as the Ogden Museum for Southern Art and in many private collections around the world.

Gerson's painting has been described as "dreamlike" in that he creates a world that is convincing and appears real but is at the same time highly personal and imagined. His work is multi-layered, ironic and technically sophisticated. Gerson at times employs a "faux naive" technique that combines aspects of the real world with a totally imagined universe.

His 'goofy guy' figure and character is present in much of his work if at times only in spirit- a teeth grinding everyman/woman dropped into a world he or she is barely capable of understanding. Though Gerson often deals with philosophic themes that may "...radiate lost innocence and existential dread," there is always a deep dark sense of humor at work. "Gerson's imagery is fantastical, the product of a strangely encompassing if somewhat twisted imagination." D. Eric Bookhardt, Gambit Weekly.

Alan Gerson lives in New Orleans with his wife Beth Meyer and their dog Tiger Lily.