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Douglas Aja
AFC
African Wildlife, Elephants, |
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Douglas Aja began sculpting and casting in bronze in the late 1990s, combining his lifelong interests in wildlife and art. He focuses on African wildlife, specializing in elephants. Many of his elephant sculptures are of known individuals from Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. These elephants are the most celebrated wild elephants in the world, having been studied by Cynthia Moss and her research team (Amboseli Elephant Research Project) since 1972. He has been a longtime supporter of Amboseli Elephant Research Project as well as Joyce Poole's ElephantVoices. A portion of the sales proceeds are donated to these two organizations. He has also donated bronze sculptures and photographs for fund raising events. His bronze sculptures are in the private collections of Cynthia Moss, Joyce Poole, wildlife cinematographer Martyn Colbeck and the Bennington Center for the Arts. He is a signature member of Artists for Conservation(AFC) and an associate member of Society of Animal Artists and National Sculpture Society. In 2011, Doug was named Wildscape Magazine’s Wildlife Artist of the Year by winning the professional category of the competition for his bronze sculpture "Mourning Erin."
Traveling to Africa for the first time in 1978, Doug took part in a wilderness education program with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). There he studied wilderness and mountaineering skills, outdoor leadership, minimum impact camping and Kenya's culture. He continues to visit East Africa regularly to take photos, gather reference material and to further his knowledge and understanding of his subjects. He often backpacks on Mount Kenya, through Maasailand and has climbed Kilimanjaro.
Major Exhibitions and Awards:
Artists for Conservation, The Art of Conservation Exhibition: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
AFC 2009 Wildscape Award: Editor’s Choice Runner-up for Final Warning
National Sculpture Society:79th Annual Awards Exhibition 2012
Art Renewal Center, International A.R.C. Salon Competition: 2011/2012 Finalist
Wildscape Magazine: Wildlife Artist of the Year 2011 for Mourning Erin
Wildlife Photography Competition 2011: Winner, Black & White Category: Portrait of Echo
Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition: Art And The Animal 2008, 2011
Art of the Animal Kingdom, Bennington Center for the Arts: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Laumeister Fine Art Competition, Bennington Center for the Arts: 2010, 2011
Honorable Mention 2010 for Locked In Battle
Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008: Semi-finalist for Portrait of Echo
Featured Wildlife Artist: "The HeART of Wildlife Defense" Bill Jordan Wildlife Defense Fund. Madison, Wisconsin, 2005
Group show: Holland & Holland Art Gallery, New York City, 2003
Wild Wings Art Festival: Minnesota 2003
Regional Exhibitions and Awards:
Vermont Institute of Natural Science: Solo Show 2011-2012
Helen Day Art Center, Annual Members Show: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Southern Vermont Arts Center, National Fall Open Exhibition: 2006, 2007, 2008
Chaffee Center for the Visual Arts, Annual Members Show: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Connie Smith Memorial Award, 2003 for In His Prime. Merit Award, 2005 for Portrait of Echo
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Support for Conservation:
Longtime supporter of Amboseli Trust for Elephants, Elephant Voices and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
2009: October; Fundraiser for Elephants and ElephantVoices with Dr. Joyce Poole. Presented by the Los Angeles Alliance for Elephants. Donated bronze elephant "Battle Weary". Donated photographs; "Echo" and " Through the Shadows".
2008: October; Fundraiser for Elephants and ElephantVoices with Dr. Joyce Poole. Donated bronze elephant "Echo & Calf".
Collections:
- 2009 - Bennington Center for the Arts
Final Warning
- 2006 - Martyn Colbeck
In His Prime
- 2002 - Cynthia Moss
Wallow
- 1999 - Joyce Poole
Empathy
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Direct Correspondence to:
Douglas Aja
c/o
1895 North Street
Montpelier, Vermont
USA 05602
Tel: (802)229-1011
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Email: dougaja@comcast.net
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