Biography
Adam Martin Disbrow (b. 1986) is an American Expressionist Painter living and working in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. After studying art history, language arts, and literature, he graduated from the University of Virginia in 2008. In 2014 he devoted himself to expressionist painting. In 2015 he co-founded the Sperryville Artist Cooperative (SPAC) in artistic community of Sperryville, Virginia about an hour south of Washington D.C. His debut exhibition took place July 25th, 2014 at Alexander Salazar Fine Art in San Diego, California. Since that time his paintings have been shown internationally and his work has been acquired by collectors around the globe.
In March 2021 Disbrow joined the NFT movement where he is known as “AD_AD.” He has since become one of the top collected artists on the Tezos blockchain. He has collaborated with some of the most recognized creators in the space, including Gary Cartlidge, Jenni Pasanen, Von Doyle, Laurence Fuller, Roman Drits, Colin Circa (adhd), and Michal Milczarek (Cut-up-banana). He continues to build the community and collaborate with other artists internationally and is working to establish Tezos as the blockchain for Fine Art NFTs.
Artist Statement
"My work is a conglomerate of the ubiquitous counterposed rare or divine elements. I am interested in the relationship of opposition, specifically life and death, the sacred and profane, and the seen and the unseen. I explore these connections by presenting concepts, objects, and events both symbolically and objectively. I think that art is a mirror that reflects who we are by what we see in it and how it makes us feel."
- Adam Martin Disbrow, 2022
Adam Martin Disbrow - CV
Solo Exhibitions
“International Virtual Exhibition”/International Association of Visual Artists / Online / May 2021
“CONFLICT/Resolution”/Mudhouse Gallery/Charlottesville, VA/December, 2019 - January, 2020
“UTOPIA”/Mudhouse Gallery/ Charlottesville, VA/August - September, 2018
“A Portrait of Beauty”/ MRC Gallery/ Charlottesville, VA/ August, 2017
“A Portrait of Beauty”/ Tin Top Gallery/ Winchester, VA/ May, 2017
“Art is Brave”/ Spring Street Gallery/ Charlottesville, VA/ January, 2016
“Small Works by Adam Disbrow”/ CitySpace Gallery/ Charlottesville, VA/ October, 2015
Group Exhibitions
“Nice Art Fair”/ SKT Gallery / Nice, France / April, 2022 *postponed from 2021*
“restART”/ SKT Gallery / London, United Kingdom / January, TBD
“Contemporary Art Exhibition” / Virtual Art Exhibition - London, United Kingdom / November, 2020
“Art for Art's Sake 3” / Virtual Art Exhibition - London, United Kingdom / January, 2021
“Art for Art's Sake 2” / Virtual Art Exhibition - London, United Kingdom / November, 2020
“Virtual Exhibition - June, 2020 - Hosted by RAAC”/Fall Art Tour.org/June, 2020
“Art Tour Gallery Show”/ Art Tour Gallery/ Rappahannock, VA/ November, 2019
“Art at the Mill”/ Burwell-Morgan Mill/ Millwood, VA/ May, 2019
“Art Tour Gallery Show”/ Art Tour Gallery/ Rappahannock, VA/ November, 2018
“Art at the Mill” / Burwell-Morgan Mill/Millwood, VA/ Sept. - Oct. 2017
“Art at the Mill”/ Burwell-Morgan Mill/ Millwood, VA/ April - May, 2017
“Art at the Mill”/ Burwell-Morgan Mill/ Millwood, VA/ October, 2016
“Art in the City”/ CitySpace Gallery/ Charlottesville, VA/ April, 2016
“Untitled”/ Alexander Salazar Fine Art/ San Diego, CA/ July - August, 2014
Awards
“All Media Show”/ Artworks Gallery/ Richmond, VA/ June, 2017
-- Winner, First Prize
“Tom Tom Founders Festival Art Contest”/ Tom Tom Founders Festival/ Charlottesville, VA/ March, 2016
-- Finalist
Press
Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine - Algiers
Interview - Adam Martin Disbrow
March, 2, 2021
Whurk Magazine
Adam Disbrow - By Lindley Estes
August, 2018
SD Voyager
Check out Adam Disbrow’s Artwork - Staff
March 26, 2018
Whurk Magazine
August, 2017
C-ville Weekly
First Fridays Write-Up - By Julie Stumbaugh
August 4, 2017
Residencies
Sperryville Artist Cooperative/ Sperryville, VA/ 2020
Sperryville Artist Cooperative/ Sperryville, VA/ 2019
Sperryville Artist Cooperative/ Sperryville, VA/ 2018
Sperryville Artist Cooperative/ Sperryville, VA/ 2017
Sperryville Artist Cooperative/ Sperryville, VA/ 2016
SYMBOLISM FOUND IN WORK
Single Square with Line Through - A building block of creation, a fractal, or a quanta. Examples being the atom or a photon
Barbed Wire - Symbolizes how the soul is caged inside the body
Four Crosses - The four of the nine greek muses devoted to dialect and language (the arts)
Wagging Tongue (Tongue on a String) - Represents the conversational aspect of the natural world
The Crown - Symbolizes Legacy
Forks and Spoons - Mined from the evolution of expressionist symbols used by Edvard Munch and Jasper Johns, the forks and spoons in Disbrow’s work represent tactile sensation, pleasure, and taste
Equation of Creation - One over Ten Equaling Eleven: the binary code of created reality
Fountain of Creation - Represents the spiraling gyre of the cosmos
Gold Single Square with Line Through - The quanta of consciousness or the Soul
Multiple Squares with Line through - Indicates how consciousness is tied to reality through perspective
Three Jagged Lines - Represents an electromagnetic field
The Heart - Symbolizes human life, death, mortality, immortality, and organic form. The red heart represents mortality, the white heart represents immortality, the black heart represents death
The Bare Breast - Symbolizes sexuality, lust, desire, and sensationalism
Binary Sequence - Reference to created reality
Cogs of Creation - Three circles which are turning and represent a form of the trinity: Mind, Body, Soul - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - Metaphysical, Physical and Celestial