Aaron Garretson grew up in Southern California, attending public schools and surfing the breaks between Swami’s and Sunset Cliffs. He studied biochemistry and cell biology at UC San Diego, earned an MFA at Columbia University, and, to support his artistic endeavors, has worked in research laboratories in California, New Mexico and New York, studying HIV, Zika, Dengue, diabetes and neuro-developmental genetics.

In the beginning, he wrote fiction and painted almost exclusively with oil pastels. But, more recently, with his science background increasingly informing the art he produces, he has been playing with scissors and thread, cutting up his canvases before painting the pieces and sewing them back together. There’s a rebelliousness to it, an element of angst in these uncertain times, and a nod to Lucio Fontana, of course. But, mostly, it has to do with creating new lines and opening up space while reconsidering the possibilities within a stretched canvas.

aaronfgarretson (at) gmail (dot) com