Bao
Born in 1975 in Vietnam, Bao Pham immigrated to Canada and arrived in Rimouski, Québec, at the age of seven. A self-taught artist, Bao was inspired by his creative family ties and took up drawing at a very young age. The beginning of his artistic career can be traced back to the year of 1995, at which time Bao moved to Montreal and discovered of the city's unrestrained street art scene. Bao subsequently adorned the nooks and crevices of the city with his own unique brand of graffiti art up until 2002. That same year he obtained his doctorate in dentistry at the University of Montreal.
Since setting up his professional dentistry practice, Bao has converted a portion of his clinic into a studio, splitting his time between working as a dentist and as an artist. Between appointments Bao disappears into his studio to create, consequently, Bao’s patients refer to him as the "dentist-artist."
Bao describes his artistic style as figurative, influenced by elements of pop culture, graffiti and street art; a particular aesthetic brand that he refers to as Urban Pop Art. In an effort to create an engaging universe of motion and contrast - one that is constantly in flux and breaks away from traditional clichés - Bao makes a point to incorporate a cross blend of genres, characters and materiality.
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