50 for 50: Mike O'Brien

“50 for 50: Mike O’Brien” presents paintings and prints by Washington, D.C., artist Mike O’Brien. O’Brien combines the bright colors and playful sensibility of 1990s cartoons with the heavy outlines and visual language of American traditional tattoos. The resulting characters and compositions explore human imperfection, humor, and warmth.

The exhibition is part of Touchstone Gallery’s “50 for 50” initiative, which invites 50 community artists to exhibit at the gallery throughout 2026, Touchstone’s 50th anniversary year. O’Brien’s work includes approachable skulls, friendly monsters, symbols, and cartoon-inspired characters intended to connect audiences of different ages and backgrounds.

When: October 7–14, 2026. The event listing gives a start time of 4:00 PM on October 7 and an end time of 3:00 PM on October 14.

Reception: October 8 from 5:00–7:30 PM.

Artist: Mike O’Brien.

Work and themes: O’Brien’s practice draws on the shared qualities of cartoons and traditional tattoos, including bold color, thick lines, simplified symbols, and layered meanings. His work is designed to retain the innocence and family connection of childhood cartoons while also engaging with the more adult world of tattoo culture.

Background: O’Brien began making art in Washington, D.C., during the 2010s, creating screen-printed posters for punk bands and wheatpasting them around the city. This work helped develop the distinctive hand-drawn line and lettering style evident in his later paintings and prints.

Exhibition history: O’Brien’s work has appeared in exhibitions associated with Touchstone, Transformer, Strathmore, Washington Studio School, Umbrella Art Fair, Thundershark Gallery, Rhizome, Homme, Dwightmess, the Fridge, and the DC Lowbrow Invitational.

Venue: Touchstone Gallery.

Address: 901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.

Tickets: Price not available.