Kurt Wenner
Kurt Wenner is an artist best known for inventing 3D pavement art. His artwork has become a global phenomenon and his images are an internet sensation.
Early life, education, and work
Wenner was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1958, but grew up in Santa Barbara, California. He attended Rhode Island School of Design and Art Center in California. While at Art Center he was recruited to work for NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Media coverage
Wenner invented 3D pavement artk and is known for driving the media and generating social media buzz with his images. He has taken on many cause-related works of art to raise awareness of things such as the Colorado River running dry, poor air quality, and more.
In 2010, Greenpeace called for a ban of genetically modified crops by presenting the European Union members in Brussels with one million signatures on a petition. It was the first time the EU members forced a vote by invoking the 1-million member signature rule. 22-by-22-metre (72 by 72 ft) Wenner was asked to create a 3D image to commemorate the historical day when the people of Europe stood up, voicing action for no GMO in their food. Wenner's enormous 3D image was at the center of this historical moment.
His work has been in more than 30 countries around the world. An advocate of arts education, he says it must be taught properly. Wenner points out that at no other time in the past 500 years, and with an abundance of Universities across the globe, do so few people know how to draw. In 1991, he received the Kennedy Center Medallion for his outstanding contribution to the arts.
Wenner works on a variety of commissions. His most recent being for 23 murals and portraits at the soon to open Legacy Center in San Diego. He sells his fine art through gallery, and accepts a limited number of private commissions each year in addition to 3D event work.