Artist Alan Gerson received a Bachelors degree in philosophy from Boston University and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans in 1980. After graduation Gerson served as the visual arts director of the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in New Orleans. He later received a law degree from Tulane University and briefly practiced law before returning to his first love.

Gerson 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 was an award winning participant in the Florence Biennale 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.