FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EXHIBITION: The Painted Story: New Work by Brian Brogan
DATES: Saturday, April 13 through Friday, May
24, 2013
Opening Reception:
Saturday, April 13, from 3 to 6 PM
Dreams and Indigenous
Spirituality Inspire New Show at True North Gallery
HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS: From Saturday, April 13 through Friday, May
24, 2013, True North Gallery presents “The Painted Story: New Work by Brian
Brogan.”
The
paintings that North Shore artist Brian Brogan creates look more like art you
would find in Santa Fe, New Mexico than New England. His large acrylic canvases
have a bold palpable presence and an iconography that is both personal and
archetypal. His art is inspired by dreams, visions, and indigenous traditions
that celebrate humanity’s connection to the natural world. Animals, people,
spirit creatures, mystical landscapes, and ritual healings are rendered in a
pulsating and vibrant palette. Brogan’s
use of color enlivens his paintings with the kind of shamanic energy found in the yarn paintings of the Huichol people of Mexico. The characters and places are a part of Brogan’s
developing personal cosmology, and yet there is something universal about them
as well. His figures—birds, bees, deer, dogs, rabbits, and human forms (often
adorned in indigenous garb or depicted in a transformational state partway
between man and beast)—feel ancient and familiar. They call to mind the Yei
spirits of the Navajo, and the Kachina spirits of Pueblo cosmology.
It’s no
surprise that Brogan’s work is influenced by indigenous traditions from around
the world. He spent more than two decades traveling and living in more than
twenty countries. While living in the Far East, Brogan developed an interest in
eastern philosophy, and studied Qi Gong and Feng Shui, two ancient Chinese
practices related to energy and balance. Both of these disciplines continue to
inform his art and life. Another influence on Brogan’s development as a visual
artist was poetry. “Poetry opened me to Spirit, and Spirit lead me to painting.
It was a fluid transition,” he explains.
Painting
is a spiritual path for Brogan. His work is shaped by liminal states of
consciousness in which he is receptive to ideas and imagery not
as accessible in a rational, waking state. “When I paint, it’s all about balance,” Brogan
reflects, “I try to hold the tension lightly, like when meditating. I’m here,
but I’m also somewhere else.” For Brogan, both the process of painting and the
paintings themselves are related to healing. He sees the work as an unfolding
story about communal reciprocity between humanity, nature, and spirit.
“Brogan’s
paintings invite the viewer to experience the world from the animistic
perspective of his painted stories,” comments Belinda Recio, owner of True
North Gallery. “People, animals, spirits, and the land are all alive and
interconnected. When viewers engage the work,” Recio continues, “they become a
part of the story, which opens the door to reconnecting with the
more-than-human world.”
All work is for sale. Directions to the
gallery are available on True North’s website: www.truenorthgallery.net/directions.html
True North Gallery is
open Wednesday through Saturday 10 to 5 PM and other times by chance or
appointment. For additional information call (978) 468-1962 or email: gallerydirector@truenorthgallery.net
