Aaron O\'BRiens Artist CV, BIO Artist Statement.

1. E-MAIL aaronarts@hotmail.com
Phone: 0430885385
Artist CV Aaron Coby O'Brien
EDUCATION
2009 - 2011 Graduated in Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), at Victorian
College of the Arts, Melbourne University, with high Distictions.
2007 - 2008 Graduate in ‘Diploma of Visual Arts’
At Victoria University, City Flinders Campus
AWARDS
2010-2011 Awarded The Valarie Albiston Scholarship from the VCA
2009 - 2011 Awarded the commonwealth Scholarship
Also Awarded Special Entry Access Schemes scholarship.
2008 Scholarship from Victoria University
2007 Scholarship from Victoria University
PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS, COMPETITIONS, PRIVATE SALES
2011 November Exhibited in the ‘Graduate Exhibition’ at the Victorian College of the Arts,
Bachelor of fine art Painting section.
2011 July Curated and Exhibited in a group show at Hogan Gallery “Ambiguity,
Mystry, Nature & Life” other artist’s included are all
from the VCA, Tom Gibbs, Anna Cheng, and Rianon Leslie.
2011 July 6- Oct 21 Finalist in a Group Exhibition, ‘The Under Graduate’ at the Toyota
Community spirit Gallery, in port Melbourne.
2011 June Played live music and video at ‘Remedy’, Margret Lawrence Gallery
2010 October Played live music and video at ‘Remedy’, Margret Lawrence Gallery
2010 September Group Exhibition, ‘Proud’, Victorian Collage of the Arts, Margret Lawrence
Gallery
2010 August 24-31 curated and Exhibited in a group show ‘assorted Favorite’s’ for the
painting department at the VCA in the student gallery
2010 July 15 - 30 Curated and Exhibited in a group show at Hogan
Gallery called ‘Altered Realities’ with two other artist’s
from the VCA Robyn Bottomly and Andrea Bromeo.
2009 may Played live music and video at ‘Remedy’, Margret Lawrence Gallery
2009 October 17 Played live music and video at ‘Remedy’, Margret Lawrence Gallery
a small at concert by the students of VCA painting department
2009 September 11-13 Group show, ‘Proud’ Victorian Collage of the Arts, Margret Lawrence
Gallery
2009 September 11-13 Group Show At the St Patrick Collage Pavilion Ballarat ,
The ‘Flanagan art Competition’
2009 June 24-11 July Group show Pigment Gallery, (Black and White Exhibition)
2009 June Exhibited in small works Competition at
Brunswick Street Gallery.
2009 June Group Exhibition in the student gallery VCA,
2008 November 18- 5 Dec Graduate Exhibition at Victoria University,
“DOGHOUSE”. Assisted in crating the exhibition
2008 November 7- 19 Solo Exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery,
“Varied Realities and Other Ideas (Unusual Juxtapositions
2008 September Curated and Exhibited in group Show “Aware”, including 6 other
Students from Victoria University,
2008 June Exhibited in small works Competition at Brunswick Street Gallery.
2008 May Exhibited in Victoria University Art Prize,
2007 Exhibited in Victoria University Art Prize.
2006 35th Annual Ivanhoe Art And Craft Show.
PROFESSIONAL REFEREE
J. Eaton, Head of Painting Programe School of Art Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne, 96859479.
Peter J Burke, Head of Creative Industries at Victoria University, City Flinders Campus, Level17/300 Flinders St,
Melbourne, VIC 3000.peter.j.burke@vu.edu.au or 9919 1583.

2. PRIVATE ART COLLECTION’S
2008 Art work bought by Victoria University for there private
Collection ‘Flinders street Sniper’.
2011 Art work bought by Victorian College of the arts for there
Private Collection ‘war of the arts’.
INTE RNET PROFILES
www.paintingsilove.com/artist/aaroncobyobrien
http://artabase.net/artist/322-aaron-o-brien
http://www.artreview.com/profile/AaronoBrien
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/stuart/StudentArt/ast_id/87819/aaron+O%20Brien
http://www.artween.com/profiles/browse/p/1115/?id=0a3dcc92018f5f0f136b6065e4394fa3

3. Artist statement
Aaron O’Brien’s art work is eclectic in style, content and techniques ,it is sometimes
allegorical and sometimes literal in meaning , he employs traditional painting techniques,
photography, new mediums, altered readymades, photoshoped images, to create works of art
that would normally have two or three levels of integral meaning . He maintains that he is not
restricted to one particular style of art, and lets the work or idea take its own form depending
on what the art work is conveying whether it be pushing the boundaries in the expanded field
of painting, or commenting on the world around us, often fusing different visual languages
and aesthetics of certain art movements as a literal meaning within the work to comment or
talk about a broad base of issues pertaining to war, capitalism, psychology, the environment,
addiction and the ethnology of 21st century western and non western culture within a surreal
and hyperrealist world.
Aaron O’Brien’s current work explores ideas around the spectacle and hyper reality of recent
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and capitalism’s war on culture and the planet, using
photographs of city spaces that he takes himself , he composes two- three shots into one
semi fragmented view. Juxtaposed over the Fragmented scene are military and capitalist
imagery that has been appropriated off the internet, that create
surreal/hyperreal fragmented scenes of war in unexpected places , that look at the simulation
and the spectacle of war, within a country that has not experienced war in recent years only a
re-representation of it from the TV news, movies, the internet etc like in his home city of
Melbourne.
Some of his other current work centre’s around capitalisms control over culture through the
use of psychology within the selling of products, the contention between man and his
environment and the critiquing of a ubiquitous culture of hyperrealism within the 21st century
and the dichotomy between the real and hyperreal in regards to jean Baudrillards
philosophies and other philosophical ideas. The aesthetics of Aarons art work is usually
brilliantly vivid and saturated colour or B&W and the forms can be beautiful, ugly, Visceral
or sublime depending on the subject or concept involved in the work.
Aaron O’Brien’s Artist Bio
Aaron O’Brien has currently finished doing a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) at Victorian Collage of
the Arts in 2011. Aaron has also completed a diploma of Visual Arts at Victorian University in 2008.
Group Exhibitions include, Toyota Undergraduate exhibition 2011 Finalist. Hogan Gallery, 310 smith
st Collingwood in 2010, 2011. ‘Proud’ 2010, 2009. VCA student Gallery in 2011, 2010,
2009.Flanagan art competition Ballarat 2009. Brunswick Street Gallery 2009. Victoria University
Gallery 2008. Aaron has been the recipient of the ‘Valerie Albiston Award’ from the VCA in 2009
worth $10,000 and The special entry access scheme scholarship in 2009 worth $18’000. Aaron is also
include in the public Art collection at Victoria University and at Victorian Collage of the arts. Aaron
has also done Live artistic/music Performances at Remedy at Margret Lawrence Gallery at VCA in
both semesters 1,2 and 3 in , 2009, 2010, 2011.
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