A. David Brandt

A. David Brandt

Contemporary Artist

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Artist Statement: I attended The University of Akron and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Art Education (‘73) and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting (‘78) The work presented here at the gallery represents a small part of my work that shows my interest in geology and weather.

Very simply, the earth beneath our feet was laid down as sediments of sand, clay, conglomerate, etc. millions of years ago. After eons of pressure and heat, many types of stone layers resulted. Examples of these are shale, sandstone, clay, and other types of stone formed from volcanic activity. Over millions of years the rock in its many forms is subjected to more heat, expansion/contraction, earthquakes, etc.

Weather conditions surround us constantly in the form of clear, calm sunny days and intense stormy fronts that let us know nothing is as constant as change. It is important to note that geology and weather are not static but but constantly moving and changing imperceptibly and sometimes dramatically.

In painting these subjects and their movement and change, I am depicting them as I see them and responding to my understanding of them with paint, canvas, paper, line, color, shape, direction, symbols, pen and pencil, textures, etc… but especially though my mind’s eye and a lot of dreaming and creativity. My earlier work appears to rely more heavily on layering landscape horizontally, while later I broke from that format and began to utilize vertical layering as well.

I am sharing an experience of geology or weather through my work that at times is not easy to verbalize but is better understood through the use of an art medium. In creating a painting, print, ceramic piece or textile, I am conscious of depth, space, repetition, and the other tools that an artist utilizes to express their subject. In addition to these I am also extending an invitation to the viewer to become involved with what is presented so that it may bring the viewer to explore the subliminal, subconscious part of the work that they can "create" in their own observations of my artwork.

My intention is to transcend objectivity in order to reach the essence~ non-descriptive naturalism.

I encourage the viewer to become involved and so to understand the great diversity and complex forces of our environment that we cannot control. In my work I have tried to reflect upon and express my understanding of the workings of geology.

-David Brandt

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