Max Ross

Max Ross was born in Pasadena in 1991 and raised on Maui, where creativity edged out sports as his real focus by high school. He trained formally at Orange Coast College and Cal Poly Pomona, where a screen-printing course and a few professors who saw something in him turned an interest into a commitment.

Just before graduating, Ross underwent major brain surgery, an experience that changed how he thinks about why he makes art at all. He paints with a sense of purpose that's earned, not performed. Today, he teaches photography, drawing, and painting at Maui High School, splitting his time between his own practice and the students he's shaping into the next generation of artists.