Bryan David Griffith

The Impermanence of Forests

Photograph on silk, charcoal, ash

About the artist

Bryan David Griffith

Bryan David Griffith’s work spans multiple media, using simple tools and materials in unexpected ways to explore ecological issues. Griffith’s unconventional career began when he stumbled upon an abandoned, dog-eared photo manual and built a makeshift darkroom while studying engineering at the University of Michigan. After graduation he built a successful business career with an international management consulting firm, but found his job unfulfilling and was troubled by the environmental impact of his clients. He ultimately resigned to follow his conscience. In order to pursue art full-time, he adopted a simple nomadic life, camping out of an old van and saving every dime for gas and supplies. When Griffith’s van broke down in Flagstaff, Arizona, he fell in love with the mountain town—and then his wife, Tasha—and has called it home ever since.

In 2014, after the Slide Fire threatened his studio, Griffith was invited to study wildfire with scientists and develop new work for the group project Fires of Change. He set his camera aside and used fire and natural materials to create visceral, experimental work. Griffith's work for the project earned the Flagstaff Arts Council's 2016 Viola Award for outstanding achievement and community impact in the visual arts, along with a 2016 Contemporary Forum Artist Grant from the Phoenix Art Museum. These awards helped him develop the work further into solo exhibitions at the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, named one of Metro Phoenix's top-10 art events of 2017 by the Phoenix New Times, and the Fresno Art Museum, named one of the Central Valley’s top-20 cultural events of 2019 by the Munro Review.