Based in Chicago, Illinois, Matthew Gaynor received a BA in Art from Yale College in 1982, and an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University in 1988. Since graduating he has divided his time between teaching graphic design and consulting through his design firm, Emspace. Gaynor is currently an arts professor and faculty member of the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and he is concurrently pursuing his passion for photographic portraiture through the use of local actors, musicians, dancers, and friends as his models.