D.J. Brennan
Artist Information
Currently Resides: Chicago, IL
Contact Information:
djbrennan (at) aol (dot) com
773-368-7520
website coming soon
Medium(s) Worked in:
Painting
Pen/Pencil
Artist CV:
Download file
Available for Commission: Yes
HPAC Exhibitions
2007, Constellation: A Faculty Show
2006, Material Science
Artist Statement
My paintings from before 2008 confront how the ideal is manufactured from flawed reality. To explore the boundary between heroic achievement and human failure, I put male figures into incongruous landscapes and implied narratives of love and sacrifice. I have devoted a lot of time in my painting to specifically American heroes, both real and fictional, as well as to the psychological meaning of American landscape and the iconic products of Hollywood.
My most recent work has set aside the human figure. Inspired by fractal images, paint-by-numbers and mid-20th-century futuristic illustration, my recent paintings explore landscape both as a product of the mind and as a realm beyond it.
Artist Bio
Dawn Brennan got her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and her MFA from University of Chicago’s Midway Studios. She has been exhibiting since 1999 and teaching in and around Chicago since 2000.
Press & Publications
- Margaret Hawkins, “Heroic Notions,” Chicago Sun Times, July 16, 1999.
- ArtStyle, interview with Darrell Roberts, June 5, 2007
Past Commissions
Yes. Please contact for more information


