Gaylen Gerber was born in 1955 in McAllen, TX. Gerber studied at the State University of New York, Brockport (B.S., 1977), the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture in Manhattan, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (M.F.A., 1980), where he has taught since 1987.

Gerber has exhibited nationally and internationally. Solo exhibitions and cooperative projects include: Wallspace, New York, New York; Renaissance Society Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; MCA Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, The Museé d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; The Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI; Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen, Bremen, Germany; Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen, Germany; the FRAC Bourgogne and Museé des Beaux-Arts, Dijon, France and the 2014 Whitney Biennial, New York, New York.