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Carrol Dunham Biography
Carroll Dunham, born on November 5, 1949, in New Haven, Connecticut, is a distinguished American painter whose career spans several decades, beginning in earnest in the late 1970s. Dunham's work has achieved critical acclaim, particularly in the 1980s, a period marked by a resurgence of interest in painting. His oeuvre is celebrated for its conceptual approach to painting and drawing, as well as its exploration of the relationship between various artistic movements and styles. Johanna Burton has noted that Dunham's career is characterized by its "rigorous indefinability," with his works freely navigating through abstraction, figuration, surrealism, graffiti, pop, and even cartoons without fully committing to any single one. David Pagel, in a review for the Los Angeles Times, described Dunham's paintings as "vulgar beyond belief," a comment intended as a compliment to the provocative nature of his work.
Dunham's early life was spent in Old Lyme, Connecticut, a region known for its significance to American impressionism in the early 20th century. His father, Carroll Dunham IV, was a Harvard-educated individual who had ventured into poultry farming and real estate, while his mother was a nurse and realtor with an education from Mount Holyoke College and Yale School of Nursing. The Dunham family had connections to the Tiffany family, renowned in the jewelry trade. Dunham's exposure to art began early, influenced by his surroundings and family, including an aunt who was a Sunday painter.
In 1972, Dunham graduated with a BA from Trinity College in Connecticut. A year later, he moved to New York City, where he began working as an assistant to artist Dorothea Rockburne. This period was crucial in shaping his artistic direction and approach. Between 1981 and 1987, Dunham's work involved direct engagement with wood veneer, utilizing various types of plywood and exotic veneers like elm, oak, pine, and rosewood. His creations from this period often responded to the natural grains of the wood, blending geometric and organic forms in vibrant compositions.
Dunham's work is known for its unique pictorial language, developed over the years to encompass painting, drawing, print, and sculpture. His art draws from the art historical canon as well as pop culture elements like sci-fi and cartoons, revisiting enduring themes such as trees, guns, the planet, bathers, and wrestlers. His work straddles the line between abstraction and figuration, with strong color planes and curvilinear lines energizing his compositions. Through anthropomorphic forms, vivid abstractions, surreal landscapes, and archetypal figures, Dunham demonstrates a fascination with scale, orientation, and composition, giving physical form to psychologically challenging imagery.
In recent years, Dunham's images have depicted mysterious, faceless women in utopian landscapes, with a focus on psychosexual themes. His work has evolved to include new subject matter like the nude male and barnyard animals, while also revisiting the abstract impulses of his early career. This evolution reflects Dunham's continuous integration of new ideas and reconsideration of past themes, showcasing a painter who remains actively engaged in the exploration of his medium.
Dunham's career is marked by a deep engagement with the formal concerns of painting, as well as a dialogue with the art and artists he admires. He has written about predecessors like Otto Dix, peers such as Elizabeth Murray, and younger artists including Kara Walker, demonstrating a generous and panoramic approach to art. His work challenges and excites, turning blackness into a narrative with formal power and confirming his instincts through the confirmation of others' work.
Throughout his career, Carroll Dunham has established himself as a significant figure in contemporary art, known for his playful, erotic, and brightly-colored biomorphic paintings. His work continues to captivate and provoke, offering a unique perspective on the complexities of human existence and the endless possibilities of artistic expression.
Carrol Dunham Quotes and Sales
of Works
Ponti Art Gallery selects and deals with paintings by the
artist. Upon request, we provide free estimates and
evaluations, communicate prices, quotations, and current
market values.
If you are interested in BUYING or SELLING works by the
artist, contact us immediately.
If you wish to sell or receive an evaluation of the
works:
Send us a frontal photo of the painting, one of the back,
and one of the signature. Also, indicate the dimensions of
the work. Inform us about the purchase origin of the work
and any kind of available documentation (purchase
receipts, certificates of authenticity, publications). One
of our operators will respond to you on the same day. We
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professionalism.
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