Greg Dunn – Neuroscience Art
Greg Dunn is a visual artist and has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. The artist creates dazzling works of enamel, gold leaf and ink inspired by science. His collection of paintings includes depictions of neurons, glial flares, hippocampus II, the cortex, synapses, and ganglion. Greg has always been interested in psychology and philosophy. As his scientific interests developed, he realized that any biological system could be fascinating. Therefore, two of his passions came together upon the realization that the elegant forms of neurons (the cells that comprise our brain) could be painted expressively in the Asian Sumi-e style. He is a deep admirer of a diverse range of pan-Asian artwork, and in his work this influence has made for elegant renderings of individual neurons and larger regions that exhibit both what Dunn calls the “raw and bold” quality of some Japanese and Chinese ink drawing traditions as well as their “simple, emotional, and direct” nature. Greg’s perception of the brain regions and the cells within them are always changing as he paints. This is because he is always trying to walk a line between photorealism and interpretation.
