Interested in art from childhood, Brian Despain has a BFA from eastern Michigan University and has worked as a graphic designer, 3D modeler, photo-retoucher, illustrator, and concept artist for the video game industry.
Despain’s paintings combine elements from the natural world with technology creating a post apocalyptic feel. His penchant for robots (100 Robots series) has a purpose as well: “I strive to create images that appeal a viewer to take part in the artistic process. I do this by creating images that hit a broad chord rather than a single note. Using familiar, global emotional situations, things like love, loss, discovery, and fear, I give the viewer a broad direction to head, but let them discover the specific path. The robots allow the viewer to more easily step into this role. If I were to put “real” people in the same situations I think the reaction to my images would be vastly different. “
Despain will be exhibiting at Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle in November 2009. For more information about Brian Despain, visit DespainArt.com. There is also a great interview on Arrested Motion Blog.
