Martin Dunn

b 1949

Martin Dunn

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to view the human experience through the biggest possible lens. My desire is to lean in, listening and learning more about the monotony of life as it is lived by people who have little in common with me. The journey has taken me to nursing homes, operating rooms, county jails, homeless camps, Hispaniola, Africa, churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues. It has cost me dearly, but with such rewards! I’ve found that people are hard to hate close up; that children often have the clearest vision. I’ve found that we are much more alike than we are different; that most of us are eager to communicate. Through it all, I’ve realized that we are all connected in a very difficult-to-explain way, and that connection is unbreakable. I can forget it for a while, but I cannot break it.

I’ve also found that there is so much more for which words have not been invented. And that’s where art comes in. My father was an artist. He worked as a commercial illustrator in the days before clip art. He was also a war hero, who suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life. His few oil paintings are dark, monochromatic renderings of fighter planes in tight formation. He was trying to say something that the society of that era wouldn’t let him put into words. Wise people say that the greatest tragedy of trauma is the loss of vulnerability. Dad could never let his guard down. But we had a common language in our art; him instructing, me learning. What we couldn’t share in conversation is right there on the canvas.

Click on a picture below for a larger image.

All images on this website are copyrighted. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is forbidden without permission.

FUN & REALISM ART THAT MATTERS

Rosa's Angels fr. 40 x 28	Room 759 fr. 22 x 37
The Pastor's Wife fr. 40 x 26	Lost the Patient fr. 28 x 23
	It's Only a Mask, I'm Still Her Best Friend fr. 21 x 33
Thurman by Firelight... fr. 28 x 42	Crossroad fr. 27 x 40
At Market Near Cap Haitien... fr. 28 x 18	A Conversation in Cordova... fr. 36 x 54
Testimoney... fr. 36 x 36	Market Day... fr. 32 x 31

Résumé

Education

Rice University, Houston, TX, art & architecture
University of Missouri/Kansas City, undergraduate degree
University of Missouri/Columbia, medical degree
Training in pencils and oils with Suzanne Peck, Sarasota, 2009-present

Exhibits

Three pieces selected for inclusion in ‘Create’, an open, all-media juried exhibit hosted by the Bradenton Area Arts and Culture, September 8-24, 2021. https://artcentermanatee.org/category/exhibitions/

One painting selected for inclusion in ‘We’re Doing It ALL Wrong’. A national exhibition hosted by Edward A Dixon Gallery, Dayton OH, May 1-July 31st, 2021. https://eadgallery.com/

Two paintings selected for inclusion in ‘Elevate’, a national exhibition hosted by Webster Arts, Webster Groves, MO, March 16th-April 30th, 2021. http://webster-arts.org

One painting selected for inclusion in ‘Beautiful Possibilities’, a national exhibition hosted by Woodwalk Galleries, Door County, WI, March 1-April 30, 2021. www.WoodwalkGallery.com

Two pieces selected for inclusion in ‘Hindsight’, an international online show hosted by Gallery 114, Portland, OR, for the month of January, 2021. http://www.gallery114pdx.com/

One piece selected for ‘Embracing Our Differences’, an international exhibition presented at Bayfront Park, Sarasota, FL, January 20 through April 1, 2021. The exhibit was extended due to an additional grant and moved to Benderson Park for an additional four months. https://www.embracingourdifferences.org/index.php?src=directory&view=CommitteeReview&srctype=artist_review

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/local-news/local-news-local-news/drury-campus-hosting-race-in-america-art-exhibit-aiming-to-help-connect-the-springfield-community/

Three pieces selected for ‘Race in America’, a national juried show hosted by Drury University, Springfield, MO, November 6-25, 2020

Invited to participation in “Art in the Time of Corona: A Global Project”. Hosted by Dab Art, Los Angeles.https://www.artsy.net/show/dab-art-art-in-the-time-of-corona

Distinguished admission to 2019-2020 Engage Art International Contest https://engageart.org/

12th Biennial National Art Exhibition, Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda, FL, February-March 2020

Art Olympia, International Art Competition, Tokyo, Japan, 2019

“New Works”, Art Center of Sarasota, May-July, 2013
“Florida Flavor”, Art Center of Sarasota, July-September 2013
“People, Places, and Things”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, November-January 2014
“Breaking Tradition”, Art Center of Sarasota, January-February, 2014
“One World”, Art Center of Sarasota, March-April, 2014
“Perspectives”, Art Center of Sarasota, May-June 2014
“All Things Florida”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, March-May 2014
“Coming Home”, Art Center of Sarasota, August-October 2014
“Only Fifty”, Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, September-November, 2014
“Seasons”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, October-December 2014
“I’ll Be the Judge”, Art Center of Sarasota, May 2015

Solo Exhibit, John Carl Salon, July-August, 2016
11th Biennial National Art Exhibition, Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda, FL, February-March 2018
Invitational Exhibit, Bayside Community Church, April 2018
Exhibit and Silent Auction, BridgeaLife annual fundraisers, April 2016, 2017, and 2018
Solo Exhibit, North Sarasota Public Library, June-October, 2018
Corrales Old Church national invitational fine art show, Albuquerque, October 2018
Solo Exhibit, North Sarasota Public Library, June-October, 2018
Exhibit and Silent Auction, BridgeaLife annual fundraisers, April 2016, 2017, and 2018
Invitational Exhibit, Bayside Community Church, April 2018
11th Biennial National Art Exhibition, Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda, FL, February-March 2018
Solo Exhibit, John Carl Salon, July-August, 2016
’ll Be the Judge”, Art Center of Sarasota, May 2015
“New Works”, Art Center of Sarasota, May-July, 2013
“Florida Flavor”, Art Center of Sarasota, July-September 2013
“People, Places, and Things”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, November-January 2014
“Breaking Tradition”, Art Center of Sarasota, January-February, 2014
“One World”, Art Center of Sarasota, March-April, 2014
“Perspectives”, Art Center of Sarasota, May-June 2014
“All Things Florida”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, March-May 2014
“Coming Home”, Art Center of Sarasota, August-October 2014
“Only Fifty”, Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, September-November, 2014
“Seasons”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, October-December 2014

Awards

Best In Show, ‘Create’, hosted by Bradenton Area Arts and Culture, September 8-24, 2021. https://artcentermanatee.org/category/exhibitions/

Best In Show, ‘Elevate’, hosted by Webster Arts, Webster Groves, MO, March 16th-April 30th, 2021. http://webster-arts.org

2021 Honorable Mention, The Bakhita Prize for the Visual Arts, an international competition sponsored by Dappled Things, a Catholic Arts magazine. https://dappledthings.org/

2020 Recipient of the Marianne Oberg Foundation for Spiritual Art grant for the pursuit of spiritual art

https://www.mofsa.org/spiritual-art/mofsa-awards-2020-spiritual-art-grant/

Semi-Honorable Mention, Art Olympia International Art Competition, 2019

Honorable Mention, “Coming Home”, Art Center of Sarasota, August-October 2014
Honorable Mention, “People, Places, and Things”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, November-January 2014
Merit Award, “I’ll Be the Judge”, Art Center of Sarasota, May 2015
Honorable Mention, “I’ll Be the Judge”, Art Center of Sarasota, May 2015
Merit Award, “I’ll Be the Judge”, Art Center of Sarasota, May 2015
Honorable Mention, “Coming Home”, Art Center of Sarasota, August-October 2014
Honorable Mention, “People, Places, and Things”, Art & Frame of Sarasota, November-January 2014

Public Art

Sarasota Christian Church:
Beach mural, Church of the Palms Palm Center, Sarasota, installed July 2018 for permanent display
“Revelation Triptych”, installed July 2019 for permanent display
“The Adoration of the Shepherds”, December 2016
“O Holy Night”, December 2015
“Mary”, April 2015
“The Empty Tomb”, April 2014

Commissions

“The Empty Tomb”, Sarasota Christian Church, April, 2014