Brian D. Dailey

American, 1951

Perhaps no word better characterizes Brian Dailey than 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 “the man of many twists and turns,” polytropos suitably describes Dailey’s life journey and its many peregrinations. As a student at Otis Art Institute (Master of Fine Arts, 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 20-year interlude working on arms control and international security. These unusual experiences, which he approached with the same curiosity that has driven his current work, provide a fertile source of inspiration in his idiosyncratic and individualistic creative practice.

Based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Dailey is an artist whose work in a range of media, including photography, film, installations and painting, draws on his multifaceted life experiences. His conceptual and performance-based art expands the parameters of the mediums in which he works, defying easy categorization. Engaging with the social, political and cultural issues of our times, his work is informed by his unusual background and unconventional evolution as an artist.