Mark Thomas Gibson was born in Miami, Florida, in 1980. He earned his BFA from the Cooper Union in New York City in 2002, and his MFA from Yale University School of Art in New Haven, CT, in 2013.

His work has been exhibited internationally, and his recent solo exhibitions include the following: Overture (The Berman Museum, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA), Lineage (The Library Company of Philadelphia, PA), Whirligig! (Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY), and A Retelling (MOCAD, Detroit, MI). Recent group shows include Commemorations (Spruce Street Harbor Park, Philadelphia, PA), Striking (Lighting) Blue (Loyal Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden), and Retinal Hysteria (Venus Over Manhattan, New York, NY). His honors include a grant from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts and residencies at Flying Horse Print Shop, MacDowell, and Fountainhead. Gibson is currently an Associate Professor and Program Head of Painting at Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he lives.

Gibson focuses on using the language of comics as a tool for social justice. His work involves graphic novels, consisting of black and white pen drawings, and colorful paintings developed from imageries chosen from his books. His lens on American culture is rooted in his multifaceted perspective: Gibson is a black male, a professor, and an American history buff. These intersecting viewpoints help to inspire his investigation of today's culture, as evidenced by the image of dystopian America apparent in his sculptures, prints, drawings, and paintings, in which he invites each viewer to serve a role as a potential character.