Gilbert is a Washington DC based painter

Gilbert was born in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia, with a degree in art education. He received a Master of Arts in Studio Art from the New York University/Venice graduate program. He studied in Venice, Italy for two consecutive summers and concluded the program in New York in 2003. Trent relocated to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in 1986 and recently completed his 37th Art Teacher career. He looks forward to focusing more on painting and exhibiting his work. He’s a former resident artist at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (Arlington Arts Center) in Arlington, Virginia. Trent has exhibited in several galleries in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and the Leslie Lohman and 80 WSE Gallery in New York.


Gilbert's work communicates his fascination with issues related to sex, race, and gender. He often retreats into his world as a young gay child and recapture particular infatuations and curiosities that have strongly influenced and continue to shape his adult life. Intrigued by same-sex relationships and other alternative lifestyles, he uses his paintings to present their naturalness and validity. His surrendered thoughts and intuition offer space for uninhibited self-expression that presents his internal world and the world of others involved in alternative lifestyles. A devout Buddhist, Trent is strongly influenced by Eastern philosophical ideology and frequently incorporates images and phrases that suggest a relationship between the past, present, and future existences.