Bio

Painter and Photographer, Aaron Dunn, was born on April 19, 1980, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is the middle child of his family, sandwiched between a conservative older brother and a liberal younger sister. As a child, Aaron was always encouraged to pursue whatever he dared to dream. He is not quite sure at what age he started to dream about being an Artist, but Art became a passion at the age of fifteen. It started with drawing and moved onto painting, where painting became his major at Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD).

He graduated in 2004 with a BFA in Painting, and he breathed a sigh of relief in response to his newly acquired freedom. Aaron’s major critics in College told him that his work was largely unfocused due to his inability to commit himself to just one medium, instead he tried to experience as much as the school would allow him to. Aaron took classes in photography, glass blowing, textiles and print-making to compliment his painting major. Because of this, Aaron makes no apologies when he switches from one medium to the next. Aaron’s talent for both Painting and Photography is a direct result from his eclectic curriculum selection at ACAD.

Aaron originally enrolled at ACAD with the desire of becoming an Abstract painter, which was heavily influences by the American Expressionist Movement, reminiscent of Pollock and sorts. After 4 years of critiques and exploration, he credits his influence to Pop Art, not necessarily for the ideology, but for the aesthetic appeal. Aaron remarks that this would explain his desire to create Art that lives on several levels—both aesthetic to the amateur Art appreciator and understandable to the small audience of the Fine Art World. This way his Art is accessible to a large audience who can love his work, but not necessarily have to understand the thought process behind it. Aaron also credits other strong influences in his life such as Eastern Philosophies, Pop and Tattoo Culture, as being prevalent in his work.

Currently, Aaron is finding success as a Painter and Photographer. His paintings evolved into manipulations of a found image, which were then broken down into the negative and positive aspects. Aaron, not being entirely satisfied with being confined to others’ images, began to utilize photography to create exactly the image he envisioned. Only recently has his photography become an Art expression of its own, and not just a tool for his paintings. He attributes his passion for Photography to Newton, Weston, Haskins, LaChapelle, amongst others.

Aaron’s work is held in several private collections and has completed numerous commissions as well.

Aaron works and lives in Calgary with his wife Christina, and puppies Dijon and Kewpie.