Brian Dailey

USA, 1951

Dailey characterizes himself as polytropos, the first adjective Homer applies to Odysseus in The Odyssey. Translated from the Greek as well traveled, much wandering, and, in a more metaphorical sense, as a person of many twists and turns, polytropos suitably describes Dailey’s life journey and its many peregrinations. As a student at Otis Art Institute (MFA, 1975) and in his ensuing art career in Los Angeles, Dailey participated in the pioneering creative experimentation defining the prolific artistic milieu in California in this era. His early career launched him on a path that —before bringing him full circle back to his roots as an artist— took him through a twenty-five-year interlude working on arms control and international security.

Dailey’s exploration of both the external aspects of the human condition and the internal dimensions of the individual generates a dialectic for understanding cultures, societies, and individual behavior. His external work —or those engaging with The Human Experience— principally explores the challenges and issues of human behavior, war, peace, and societal self-destruction. These works examine the many faces and paradoxes of humanity, providing through the vehicle of art a window into its propensities and contradictions. Dailey is based in Woodstock, Virginia and Carmel, California.