Biography of AA Bronson
The extraordinary life of AA Bronson has seen him cofound an artist collective, be president of Printed Matter, Inc., and even initiate the NY Art Book Fair. A highly successful artist with a huge international profile, Bronson was born Michael Wayne Tims in Vancouver, Canada in 1946. After finishing university Bronson formed the artist collective General Idea in 1969. Renowned for their magazine FILE, 1972-1989, the highly influential artist trio lived and worked together for 25 years. They were instrumental in raising awareness of the AIDs epidemic in the 1990s and produced a prodigious amount of multiples and editions. Two members of the group, Jorge Zontal and Felix Partz died in 1994, leaving AA Bronson to continue working alone to this day.
AA Bronson's oeuvre has centered on the notion of healing—a persona that he has also integrated into his art practice. His work often deals with death, trauma, and the spiritual remnants of those passing. A prolific curator, Bronson has also curated numerous shows including the exhibition Learn to Read Art, at Art Basel in Switzerland in 1991, an exhibition of 287 artists' books and multiples from the permanent collection of Art Metropole, the non-for-profit space he opened in Toronto with General Idea.
Between 2004 and 2010 AA Bronson founded and directed the NY Art Book Fair which features over 200 participants from across the world. Bronson's work is collected all around the world and features prominently in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada and The Whitney Museum in New York. He has been involved various high-profile group shows including Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, the National Portrait Gallery Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, the Whitney Museum in New York, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. In 2014 Bronson's Love Aids Riot Sex 2: Art Aids Activism 1995 Until Today exhibition took place in HGbK in Berlin.