MICHAEL GAUGHAN WAS BORN IN WOODSTOCK, IL IN 1980. HE EARNED A BFA IN PAINTING FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, A MED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, AND AN MFA FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE.

GAUGHAN IS AN ARTIST WORKING IN VARIOUS STYLES AND MEDIUMS INCLUDING PAINTING, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHY, SCULPTURE, AND COMMERCIAL WORKS. THE ABSURDIST MOVEMENT, DADAISM, IS A SIGNIFICANT INSPIRATION TO GAUGHAN’S WORK BECAUSE DADA BLENDS ART PRODUCTION WITH SATIRE, PUNS, THE SUBCONSCIOUS, REVOLUTIONARY IDEALS AND EXPERIMENTATION. HE ENJOYS EXPLORING THAT KIND OF INTELLIGENCE AND APPLYING OBSERVATION, ENTERTAINMENT, AND HUMOR TO HIS OWN PRACTICE. HE IS ALSO CONCEPTUALLY INFLUENCED BY CONTEMPORARY ICONS SUCH AS WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, EMO PHILLIPS, JOHN DE FAZIO, LINDSEY WHITE, JOHN WATERS, AND CHARLYNE YI.

AS A PRACTICING ARTIST HE HAS EXHIBITED/ PERFORMED AT THE BURNET GALLERY IN THE CHAMBERS HOTEL, THE WALKER ART CENTER, THE PORTLAND INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, ART BASEL IN MIAMI, AND THE LACE MUSEUM. AS A COMMERCIAL ARTIST HE HAS WORKED WITH BURTON, NIKE SB, CNBC, AMERICAN APPAREL, ANDREW WK, JAGJAGUWAR RECORDS AND SURFACE MAGAZINE. GAUGHAN HAS PARTICIPATED IN OTHER MUSICAL, ARTS, MAGAZINES, FILM PROJECTS AND HIS WORKS WERE USED IN A NEUROLOGICAL MEDICAL STUDY OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCES AT LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY IN 2011.

IN 2010, GAUGHAN WAS AWARDED CITY PAGES’ 69TH MOST CREATIVE PERSON IN THE TWIN CITIES HONOR, L’ETOILE’S BEST ARTIST OF 2011, AND WAS INTERVIEWED IN THE ONION, IRISH AMERICAN NEWS, 89.3 THE CURRENT, AND RADIO K. FURTHERMORE, HE HAS COORDINATED OVER TEN CITY-WIDE SCAVENGER HUNTS AS A PERFORMANCE PIECE IN MINNEAPOLIS, MN AND PORTLAND, OR.

GAUGHAN’S PRIMARY GOAL IS TO CREATE WORKS THAT CONSIST OF DIFFERENT LAYERS OF CONTENT WHILE ALSO PUSHING HIS SKILLS IN HIS DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP A CLEVER PROCESS FOR MAKING HIS WORKS ALONG WITH COMBINING HIS INTERESTS IN HUMOR, ART HISTORY, CONTEMPORARY CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT.

MICHAEL GAUGHAN CURRENTLY LIVES AND WORKS IN MINNEAPOLIS, MN.