Tyree Guyton

Tyree Guyton is an artist from Detroit, Michigan, born on August 24, 1955. He is married to Jenenne Whitfield and continues to live in Detroit. Before becoming an artist, Guyton worked as a firefighter and an autoworker and served in the U.S. Army. Guyton studied art at Marygrove College, Wayne State University, and the Center for Creative Studies—now College for Creative Studies. Guyton counts his grandfather, Sam Mackey, and Detroit artist Charles McGee as his greatest influences.

Since creating the Heidelberg Project with his grandfather in 1986, Guyton has received international recognition as an artist, educator, and community leader. Although he is an honorary director on the Heidelberg Project board of directors, in recent years he has concentrated his efforts on his art exhibitions as well as on lecturing and teaching. In 2007, Guyton accepted a position teaching an honors program at the Wayne State University.

Tyree Guyton's work has been installed and displayed across the world, including a feature in 1999 by the United States Department of State in the Art in Embassies Program with an exhibition in the American Embassy in Quito, Ecuador. Permanent installations of his work have been established in Sydney, Australia, at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and in Mount Vernon, New York.