Darren Bryant

Biography

Darren Bryant is an artist living and working across the Bundjalung/Northern Rivers region. Darren studied visual arts at the University of New England, graduating in 1992. In 1993, he completed an undergraduate Honours year at Griffith University, Queensland College of Art and Design, receiving the Trevor Lyons Memorial Prize. Being awarded a postgraduate scholarship with Southern Cross University, he completed a Master of Arts by Research in 1997. Combining his teaching and contemporary art passions, Darren is currently a Doctorate Candidate at Griffith University, Queensland College of Art and Design.

Darren has established and maintained an exemplary print practice of significant quality, recognised at national and international levels within the field of print media. Darren's work has been included in print survey shows in Europe, Asia, and Australia, with work in numerous national and international collections. These include Silk Cut Collection- National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery -GOMA, Art Gallery of South Australia, State Library of NSW, State Library of Queensland, State Library of Victoria, The Leeds Library, Brooklyn Art Library - New York, Association Mouve­ment D'Art Contemporain- France, Print Council of Australia, Artbank, and numerous regional galleries and university collections.

He has received international awards, including the London Print Studio Prize (UK) and the Printmaking Today Prize (UK). 

Research

Darren's research interests lie in merging old and new print technologies to interrogate ideas surrounding 'the aura of the original'. He is working towards a Doctorate research project concerned with the language of the matrix connected to repetition, pressure, memory, and loss. Darren is interested in how souvenirs and collections can mediate an experience connected to time and space. Exploring the tension between 'here' and 'not here,' 'now' and 'then,' observing that when objects are removed from their origin and time frame, they can be defined as incomplete, generating a sense of desire and in the case of a print copy, trigger a longing for the original. For Darren, the place of origin must be elsewhere for a desire to be generated.

Teaching

Darren is currently an Art and Design Lecturer, teaching interdisciplinary arts practice, including teaching specialisation in drawing, print media, papermaking, artists’ books and multiples. Darren often supervises students outside his degree and discipline area.

Community engagement

As artist and academic living and working across the land of Bundjalung/Northern Rivers region. Darren is a passionate, community-engaged educator involved in various projects and events.

Supervision

Has supervised and examined Honours and Masters candidates.