Tok Braun

“Where are you from?”

It’s a challenging question. The answer not only reflects this challenge but also my perspective on my life and my art.

I’m from Chicago and have spent many important years there. My formative years were spent growing up in Santa Fe, a place full of juxtapositions; liberalism vs conservatism, a religious culture vs an agnostic one, and art vs nature. Santa Fe can be an invigorating place, but also a lonely one. All of these things have found their way into my art.

I left Santa Fe during high school to live with my dear aunt Kaye in Charlottesville, Virginia. While leaving friends behind was difficult, it ignited my desire to be on the move from that point forward. Since then, I’ve lived in Barcelona, New York, Chicago, Dallas and Tucson, with intermittent tenure all over Los Angeles. When not working as a producer in the video game and animation industries, my free time has equally been on the move, spending every possible moment wandering around Europe or South America.

Being on the move has opened me up to a broad range of artistic influences. I love most of the classic photographers like Ansel Adams, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Ernst Haas and Henry Cartier Bresson, but, I’m equally influenced by impressionist and expressionist painters such as Degas, Chagal, Van Gogh, Monet and Miró. I am also driven by those who push their genres to the next level, such as Phillip Lorca Di’Corcia, Elinor Carucci and Gregory Crewdson.

My hope with my art, and with anything I do is to share what I see and feel with others and hope that I leave the world slightly better than when I found it. I also aspire to leave a smile with my two-legged children, Lucien and Esme, my four-legged children, Bruno and Bella, and my partner in life and love, Renata, as often as I can.

Follow me on Instagram @littlestories.fyi