Dance the Blues

Adam Caldwell was born in 1963 in Framingham Massachusetts. He received a BFA with honors from the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in 1998 and has been a full-time fine arts instructor at the since 2001.

His paintings mix elements of abstract expressionism and classical figuration. Caldwell enjoys to start with an abstract background and then add on photo-realistic detail—a technique borrowed from collage drawing.

The content of his work raises questions about human identity, particularly gender and sexuality roles. His artistic influences are Odd Nerdrum, Francis Bacon and Barron Storey, a teacher at CCAC. Caldwell also cites as influences the philosopher Daniel Dennett and his grandfather, the author Erskine Caldwell.