Neuroscientist Paints Sumi-e Style Brain Art (Gallery)

Neuroscientist Greg Dunn decided to trade in his microscope to become a professional artist. 

He still uses a microscope in his art though. Meta much? What gives! Greg is an interesting dude, and his brain art offers deep food for thought when it comes to interconnectivity and the fractal nature of the universe.

The patterns of branching neurons he saw through the microscope reminded him of the aesthetic principles in Sumi-e art, which he admires. Dunn realized neurons could be painted in this sumi-e (minimalist ink wash painting) style to wonderful effect.

The microscopic world belongs in the world of Asian art. There’s no distinction between painting a landscape of a forest and a landscape of the brain. – Greg Dunn

Enjoy his beautiful creations!

 Sumi-e Style: Brain Art

Cortical Columns

Cortical-Columns[4] Brain Art

It’s almost a zen quality to the branching pattern of a neuron that I was interested in capturing initially. – Greg Dunn

Basket and Pyramidals

Basket-and-Pyramidals-small[1] Brain Art

Gold Cortex II

Gold-Cortex-II

Cortical Circuitboard

Cortical-Circuitboard[2]

Electron Micrograph of Micro-etching

SEM-comp-high-res

Brainbow Hippocampus in Blue

Microetched-Hippocampus

The image above was inspired by the Brainbow process, a neuroscience technique for coloring neighboring neurons by combining colored fluorescent proteins.

Brainbow Hippocampus Variations

Brainbow-Hippocampus-compilation

Glia and Blood Vessels

Glia-and-Blood-Vessels

Glial Flare

NG2-flare Brain Art

Spinal Cord

spinal-cord

 Art has the power to capture people’s emotions and inspire awe [in a way] that a lot of charts and graphs don’t have. – Greg Dunn

Dazzling Images of the Brain Created by Neuroscientist-Artist | Live Science