::bio::

DREW ETIENNE was born in 1984 in Indiana and decided to start making art in 1986 in Tennessee. He is currently studying in the BFA program at Indiana University, where in 2007 he received the Drawing & Painting Area Award, and in 2008 he received the Harry Engle Painting Scholarship.

As of late he has been preoccupied with the interaction between the natural and the unnatural, the commonalities and differences between nature and technology, and the beauty inherent in nature and human beings' role within it. This has manifested in abstract scenes involving figures and environments with a natural curiosity but an artificial origin, which also speaks to a fundamental fascination with the unknown.

"The most important thing to me is open-mindedness. Closed-mindedness is brought about by fear, and fear seems to be the cause of the largest portion of suffering and carnage that we as humans create. I feel like the smarter and more open-minded we get, i.e. the more we evolve, the less we'll kill each other over skin color, beliefs, and other nonsense. Secondary to this, in my paintings, I kind of hope that I'll be able to convince people that no matter how we view the world, spiritually or non-spiritually, it's still just as beautiful. Thirdly, I don't give a damn whether global warming is real or not, this is our only home right now, and it's deplorable that we're too lazy and self-centered to take care of it. If it weren't for our planet, we'd be nowhere, literally." [Excerpt from 2008 artist statement.]