hai·ku (noun): Works by Andy Curlowe & Janet Bruhn

The air has cleared, and now it's time for number two. Hai·ku is the juxtaposition of works by Janet Bruhn and Andy Curlowe. Come to BUCKBUCK and explore the complex and seemingly mundane unification of nature and man, Friday, August 17th from 6-11PM. 

Janet Bruhn [www.janetbruhn.org]

Rural or forgotten things, such as an over gown backyard, pickled foods and half eaten turkeys, are subjects I paint to dissect the complexity of the mundane. By utilizing normality, inherent restlessness is present in conjunction with pallid or effulgent colors. Realism is utilized to heighten the temperature of the present, factories closing, prairies still growing and stodgy Lutherans that are fading. Storytelling accompanied by sentimentality and sap is also significant to how the subject matter is handled with respect. 

Fractured places and unhealthy lifestyles mark the frailty of subjects I paint. The normality I try to render is interrupted by the decay laden in its creation. By loving these people and things images are created just in time for mold to set and figures 

to exit. 

Andy Curlowe [www.curlowe.com]

My work is a reflection of nature and the world of human influence.

These paintings attempt to confront the ever-changing relationship

between these realms. Focused on suggestive landscape, my work is a

fusion of curved lines and blurred contours of natural forms which

counter the sharp geometry of industry and calculation. Whether in

conflict or harmony, these works emphasize the power struggles between

both worlds.

Geo-forms saturated in color, dance and grow amongst natural forms

which flatten as they expand. Lines streak in and out of focus

inferring an architectural vernacular. Each line narrates the illusion

all while emphasizing the void.

As society struggles, so does nature, yet they are the same. As humans

we strive to distinguish ourselves from nature through a impassive

means. These paintings seek to illustrate this struggle as well as

meditate on its resolve.

Opening Reception: Fri. Aug. 17th @ 6-11PM

Hai·ku will run through Sept. 9th.