D E N I S . B R O W N
Curriculum Vitae

Denis Brown's work stems from ancient traditions of manuscript writing, and he has engaged with these since his early teens. Rigorous formal training in traditional calligraphy at London's Roehampton Institute has formed a strong foundation for later experimental work. His work explodes from and extends traditions of calligraphy in the form of innovative works of art. Widely traveled with his work, he has lectured on four continents, and is internationally recognized as a world leader in the field of Letter Arts.

Date of Birth: 1968, Dublin, Ireland

EDUCATION
Diploma in Advanced Calligraphy, Roehampton Institute, London,1987-1989.

DISTINCTIONS & FELLOWSHIPS

Honoured Fellowship of Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society UK (HFCLAS),
Fellowship of Society of Scribes and Illuminators UK, (FSSI)
Honorary membership of Hong Kong Letter Arts Club.
Honorary membership of Alpha Beta Club, Hong Kong.
Portfolio member of Crafts Council of Ireland.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

European Parliament, Strasbourg & Brussels; British Library, London; Newberry Library Chicago; San Francisco Public Library; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge UK; National Museum of Ireland; Trinity College Library, Dublin; Chester Beatty Library, Dublin; Crafts Council of Ireland; Irish Office of Public Works; The Great Book of Ireland, Dublin Castle; Irish Life PLC

RECENT AWARDS

RDS National Craft Competition 2009: Denis Brown was awarded two first prizes plus an RDS Committee of Arts Acquisition. Total of 23 prizes won in this annual competition in 20 years since 1989, including 10 first prizes in calligraphy category, 1 first prize in glass category; and 9 overall awards (incl. 2 California Gold Medals,  2 Craft Council of Ireland awards, Muriel Gahan Scholarship, Millennium award, etc)
2006: The Crafts Council of Ireland annual Bursary award

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RECENT EVENTS


2009: "Wishie" series debuts with exhibition in Gallery 13, Hollywood California.
2008: Solo performance of large scale live art combined with multi media projections and music filmed/recorded by the artist. A special evening event staged at Letters Mingle Souls, The 2008 International Conference for Lettering Artists, Chicago.
2007: Keynote presentation of work by Denis Brown at the 2007 International Conference for Lettering Artists, Island magic, Vancouver Island, BC.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

2010: Naples Museum of Art, Florida; invited exhibitor in 'The Saint John’s Bible and the Art of the Book' exhibit. 'Living Letters Three: Small Objects of Desire', Reg Vardy Gallery, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, England.
' Kalligrafi ve tipografinin Sanatsal Yansimalari', Turkey, May 3-11
2009: 'Botanica; Nature up close’ Gallery 13, West Hollywood, California; 'Living Letters Three: Small Objects of Desire', Riverhouse Gallery, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, UK; RDS National Crafts Competition Prize Winners Traveling Exhibition, RDS Dublin & national tour.
2008: 'WORDSCAPES' by Denis Brown, October 2nd – November 10th; Gallery 13, West Hollywood, California; Letters Mingle Souls Faculty Exhibit, International Conference for Lettering Artists, Chicago.
2007: National craft winners Exhibition, Royal Dublin Society (RDS) and tour. Island Magic, International Calligraphy Conference Vancouver Island, faculty exhibit.
2006: SOFA, Chicago, U.S.; Word & Craft, Art Center of Asheville, NC, U.S.; St. Louis Calligraphy Guild 25th Anniversary Exhibit, St. Louis Calligraphy Guild, St. Louis, U.S. "Black & White" Conference, faculty exhibit, Seattle, U.S. RDS National crafts exhibition, RDS Dublin plus tour.

RECENT & CURRENT PUBLICATIONS

January 2010: Letter Arts Review Magazine (U.S.): issue 24:1 features a comprehensive full color article on Denis Brown's 'A Thousand Wishes' series.

January 2010: CLAS (Calligraphy & Letter Arts Society) magazine 'The Edge' (U.K.): special full color 4 page insert on Denis Browns 'A Thousand Wishes' included with January issue.

Irish Craft Portfolio Book, 2010, published by the Crafts Council of Ireland features Denis Brown among its other 'portfolio' members.

New Year 2009 special edition full color magazine featuring Denis Brown & David Mc Grail published by CLAS (Calligraphy & Letter Arts Society), the largest UK calligraphy guild.

Society for Calligraphy, (SFC) Los Angeles color feature on Denis' glass art in the Winter 2009 issue of their Calligraph magazine.

Schreibwerkstatt Klingspor Offenbach, (Germany) Jahrescheft 2009, features Denis Brown, 'Schreibe, Wie du Denkst'

Colophon Magazine, June 2009 published by Australian Society of Calligraphers features a color feature and interview with Denis Brown.

US magazine Bound and Lettered has a color feature on Denis Brown in vol.7 no.2, 2008

Irish Arts Review: Winter 2008, Irish Craft 2008 supplement; also Summer 2007, 'Standard Setters' feature.

The Music of Ink, self published DVD Movie documenting live art & multimedia performance presented Chicago 2008 International Conference for Letter Arts, available from http://quillskill.com/LMS_2008/dvd_sales.htm

sWORDSmanship, Calligraphic Art by Denis Brown, self published CD-ROM for PC and Macintosh available from http://quillskill.com/DBCD/cd-r.htm

Websites
www.quillskill.com
www.glass.quillskill.com

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Denis Brown has conducted international workshops at the invitation of calligraphy guilds in the USA, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Ireland, Britain, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. He has been on the faculty of most of the international calligraphy conferences since 1994.

Workshop information available: click here

www.quillskill.com