Brand Associates

https://www.eglendalelac.org/bethechange On Thursday, February 4th (6:30pm - 7:30pm PST), author Richard Rothstein will discuss his book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America. Registration is free. You can even download the e-book through the library in advance! Come be a part of this important discussion.

Artist Marne Lucas, also a doula, examines the intimacy and fragility of our bodies through the lens of ever-increasing surveillance technology that we are increasingly subjected to. These eerie pieces reveal the body in new ways, referencing a military-industrial gaze through hauntingly beautiful imagery. This 24 x 36 inch piece called "Estro/Estranged" is featured in Brand 48, hosted by the Brand Library & Art Center (@brandlibrary). View the entire virtual exhibition at h...ttps://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. The artist writes: "As a multidisciplinary artist and end of life doula, I work in conceptual overlaps: energy, light, intimacy, the body, and mortality. Drawn to our interactions with increasingly present surveillance technology, I use military-grade, thermal imaging cameras (surveillance cameras, binoculars and rifle scopes as means of digital image capture) to reference the surreal beauty and fragility of humanity."

Inspired by adventures taken with her family, artist Monica List recently created a series of black acrylic ink paintings, using spontaneous gestures to create an atmosphere of memory. This 10 x 8 inch piece is featured in Brand 48, hosted by the Brand Library & Art Center (@brandlibrary). View the entire virtual exhibition at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. The artist writes: " By letting my creative process flow and lead me into new directions, I enhance my art with s...pontaneity and innovation. That drive is what is currently inspiring the creation of this black acrylic ink series. In order to enhance simple compositions, I move the ink around with water on the paper; it dries very quickly and becomes immovable once dry. My newest series uses minimalism, contrast, water marks, and texture to represent my perspective on the environments of my ink paintings." See more

Kathryn Lesh contends she is "obsessed with the drama of light and the construction of space. These obsessions are the starting points from which I explore the line between the abstract and the figurative." Her stunning 2017 monotype print, "archetypes/Earring2" (5.25" x 4.75") is shown in our Brand 48 virtual exhibition, which you can view and enjoy at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. Lesh says about her process, "Monotypes are an intriguing and challenging combination ...of printmaking and painting. The inks, the papers, the plates, working with a press: the elements are traditional, yet they come together for an exciting, wild and exacting method of working. Inevitably a learning experience, the shaping and manipulating of the inks on the plate along with layering and their transfer to paper make for a magical process: frustrating and seemingly futile at times, yet magical." She describes her artwork as "images [that] capture specific, resonating moments in my life, rendered in details that are abbreviated and abstracted enough to invite broad interpretation. I work best when I have a strong emotional connection to my subject matter. That connection is often intimate, ambivalent, and long term. I work to capture an individual's gesture or the mood of a particular place or time, then build on my figurative anchors, whether people or buildings or trees, with layers of both ink and emotion."

"Terrifying and whimsical" -- seemingly contradictory words Leslie Lanxinger uses to describe her work. If those characterizations can apply to anyone's art, it must to Lanxinger's. Today we're featuring her charcoal drawing, "Thug (Ahab)," an impactful 56" x 48" piece that is part of our Brand 48 virtual exhibition, available for perusing at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. Lanxinger writes, "My work creates a dreamlike universe using fantasy and gesture to convey narr...ative. Embracing everyday materials and principles of tableau vivant, puppetry and theatrical display, my drawings are orchestrated using still life made of masks, costumes, sculpture, and installation. "The drawings combine the most terrifying and whimsical elements of fantasy along with the most rigorous and vulnerable details of realism. They are drawn on thick printmaking paper, with heavy charcoal, using an extremely physical and immersive technique: pushing and pulling, drawing and erasing layer upon layer, until the end result is physical, dense, tactile, yet somehow photorealistic from a distance and often mistaken for photography. They are grotesque, absurd, tender, and beautiful, drawn with aggressive energy and emotional marks. The drawings are inspired by science, pop culture, politics, feminism, memory, and literature. "I have worked with various performing artist groups and collaborations, including circus and burlesque performers, all of whom have informed my aesthetic and influenced my perception and my process."

This direct and strange portrait almost blooming off the page was created by artist Robert Koss and is called "Four Felt." This work is featured in the works on paper show, Brand 48, hosted by the Brand Library & Art Center (@brandlibrary). View the entire virtual exhibition at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. The artist writes of his Silhouettes series: "The Silhouettes capture the various facial expressions, caught by my camera, that are projected onto them. They spot...light the feelings at the center of the artwork that are amplified by the manipulation of the image. This combines to create a disturbingly direct image, one that can appear silly or scary depending on your interpretation. The speckled surfaces of the silhouettes projected through the facial expressions give a battered, lived-in look to the faces. The believability the camera creates gives a disturbing realness to the images. The color of the background is tied into the titles of the work. Four Felt plays on the green color of the felt coverings of billiard tables while also providing a calm space to show the animated facial expression. This keeps the emphasis on the feelings expressed." See more

Brand Associates gave our prestigious Robert Brown Award to Marco Hernandez for his wonderful print, "El Disparate," an 8 x 11 inch three-plate etching, in this year's Brand 48 Works on Paper exhibit at the Brand Library and Art Center. Hernandez says his current body of work "explores issues associated with the societies and politics of contemporary Mexican and Mexican-American Cultures. I am inspired by my personal experiences growing up as a Mexican immigrant in California... and the Midwest. Mexican and Mexican-American symbols play a large role in my prints. The symbols span from ancient Mesoamerican imagery to contemporary popular culture items, such as Valentina hot sauce. Life experiences and a traditional Mexican upbringing have influenced my thoughts and beliefs and ultimately have been inspirational to the imagery and meaning in my current work. I immigrated with my family to the United States when I was very young. I was introduced to a new culture, language, and other struggles that I would have to overcome. I felt a loss of my cultural roots during these early years. While living with family in the United States I watched Spanish news programs that would report about Mexico's social problems, generally caused by corruption and drugs. These experiences influenced my thoughts and beliefs about my unique personal identity. Being born in Mexico and raised in a traditional Mexican family has taught me to be proud and embrace my roots." _______ Visit this and other incredible works at our online gallery: http://brandlibrary.art/brand48

Here's a little fantastic collage on a Sunday afternoon - a relevant piece right now packed with political symbolism by Elle Campbell, called "Freedom and Justice." This work is featured in this year's Brand 48 with Brand Library & Art Center, online virtually at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. The artist gives a little background on the making of this piece: "After leaving medical school in 2017 and moving cross country with my two young children and husband, I realize...d I needed to process the experiences I'd had as a medical student. Because of how I came to art, much of my work is representational and rooted in my personal memories and emotions, while trying to find and evoke shared experiences with viewers. However, as I've learned more about art and art history, and as the political landscape in the US has become more polarized and fraught with crisis, my work has also become more political and pointed. Created during the impeachment of President Trump, Freedom and Justice is an example of my recent work." See more

Library, Arts and Culture and the Arts and Culture Commission have released a call for artists that would build upon the Black Lives Matter movement. But hurry! Applications are due October 31. Please share this fantastic opportunity! https://www.glendaleartsandculture.org/artist-opportunites

Feeling the need to exhale and immerse yourself in the world of art? Join us on Thursday, October 29th as we present a lively panel that will dig in to what goes into creating drawings and prints from the viewpoint of artists, art educators and students. Zoom link below, or hop on over to https://associatesofbrand.org to register. See you next week! And in the meantime, don't forget to breathe.... https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NSXQGXveTwuIXOJG99Js0Q

Good morning! This intriguing and somewhat mysterious work by Leslie Brown is featured in this year's Brand 48 with Brand Library & Art Center, online virtually at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. The artist's love of natural form and layering is deeply apparent, and they say of their work, "I was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania a small mill town on the Allegheny River. My earliest influence and inspiration came from my grandfather, Lester, who encouraged my painting and drawing and love of music at a young age. Long before home schooling was popular, we toured from New York to Florida taking in the landscapes, libraries, galleries, tourist novelties and all that 1963 could offer. This is perhaps where my love of landscape, portraiture and still life and a connectedness to people outside of family began."

This gorgeous work by Amy Broderick is featured in this year's Brand 48 with Brand Library & Art Center, online virtually at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48. The work is called "Morpheme" and is a tiny jewel-like beauty that is 3.5 x 3.5 inches. The artist says of their work: "Detailed descriptions of the phenomena unfolding around us are among the tools that we humans use to coax order out of chaos. This work embodies my interest in noting the specific topography of everyday life and the loss of each day's details to the fleetingness of time. What discoveries are possible when we open our eyes to the intersection of the plain and the beautiful? What specific dreams and discoveries are possible at this point of intersection?"

A Sunday double-header! At our virtual opening of the Brand 48 : Works on Paper exhibit Steffani Bailey was given an Associates Award for her collage, "Fly off, and thinking of Kurt." To make the work Steffani used various papers, including rice papers, and wood dowels. It is 19" x 12" x .5" Bailey says, "When I work with the collage process, I explore small constructs of color, texture, and shape; I work on the wall, moving pieces around, adding, and subtracting. I enjoy in...corporating saved remnants from previous works that create new contrasts and surprises. Sometimes it will be a few saved remnants that get me started; each collage becomes its own mood and conversation." Enjoy this piece and 108 others at: https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48 And watch a short video of Steffani talking about her work here: https://bit.ly/30zoIgT

Happy Sunday!! This epic work by M Sherwood Brock is actually an artist book! It is featured in Brand 48 produced with Brand Library & Art Center which you can see here: https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48 The artist says of their work: "My work is narrative with themes influenced by science and history. A current project involves a presentation of history from an abstracted feminine perspective. Big Valley is an artist book that uses 18 pages (8" x 16" each) to explore an alternative idea of Los Angeles. The book folds out into a 3 dimensional space 5 feet square to create, in effect, a valley. Printmaking is useful in my creative process, allowing me ways to layer my themes and sources, with drawings and photographs mixed with intaglio and monoprint plates for each unique print."

Happy Thursday! Let this delightful piece by artist Jerald Brainin carry you through the rest of the week - it's featured in Brand 48 produced with the Brand Library & Art Center! Check it out at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48 The artist says of their work: "The universe is an ever evolving system of patterns, all of which can be described mathematically and which reveal the structure of subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, planets, galaxies. Pythagoras intuited this... in ancient Greece when he likened patterns in nature to the harmonies of music, arising from numbers which he understood to be the basic constituents of existence. Galileo similarly understood the universe to be "written in mathematical language...the letters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which...it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word." Conceptually speaking, my art imagines the intersection of these patterns at different levels of scale." See more

This entrancing piece by Yun Gee Bradley is created through the delicate push and pull of pigment and paper fibers, and is just one of the incredible uses of material we see in Brand 48 with Brand Library & Art Center. The artist says of her work: "I know it sounds strange but I have fallen in love with the Korean paper, hanji. When I work with hanji I become so intimate with it that I know its temperament and it tells me which way is best to shape and lay it out; it tells me... what it does not like. It is soft but also quite tough and both are qualities that I love in my friends. My process, using tweezers to pull each strand of paper to create outlines or shapes little by little and watching the artwork taking shape, is very meditative and I have never felt this much joy when I am just working on paper." Check out this and 107 other amazing works at https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48

https://12sunsets.getty.edu/map/narrative In 1966, artist Ed Ruscha drove the Sunset Strip photographing all of the buildings on each side of the street. The Getty has digitized more than 60,000 negatives from this collection of more than a half a million total images. Now it's your turn to go for a drive. Enjoy!

At our Brand 48 : Works on Paper virtual opening event on September 12 new Brand Associates board member Sue Bell Yank presented Edwin Vasquez with an Associates Award for his collage, "New World Fashion." Vasquez said, "I created this mixed media piece on 12" x 16" watercolor art-board. The blouse and the headwear are postage stamps from several countries from around the world that are also suffering from the consequences of the pandemic. The background is two-tone black an...d gray spray paint, reflecting the mood of our country and society in general. The use of Asian female eyes looking down reflects several world leaders blaming Chinese people for a virus that knows no borders or demographics. Fake gem stickers make up expensive headphones and accessories. In contrast, on the chain is a Guatemalan 5 cent coin, standing for the Central American countries struggling to survive curfew and their stay-at-home orders. For the mask, I used scrap paper to trick the eyes and create a three-dimensional feeling. This is the most important part of the art piece because of how universal and evocative mask symbolism has become." The Board hopes you'l visit this and other incredible works at our online gallery here: brandlibrary.art/brand48

Happy Sunday! We adore this delicate and detailed work by Renee Bott, featured in Brand 48 with Brand Library & Art Center. The artist says of her work: "My work is based on the minute and detailed lines found in etchings and engravings from the 15-17th centuries. I collect my source materials from museums, antique print dealers, and private collections. I photograph the prints and use Photoshop to digitally modify the images, which serve as general outlines for my compositions. Book pages often provide the underlying armature for my works. I overlay the digitally enlarged image on top of the book pages, which are mounted to a canvas or backing material. The content of the text often offers inspiration for the image." Visit this and other incredible works at our online gallery here: brandlibrary.art/brand48

Enjoy this peaceful geometric work from Michele BonDurant, featured in Brand 48 with @thebrandlibrary. Titled, appropriately, "Little Pink Houses," the artist says of her practice: "As a landscape painter, I am interested in the pictorial and informative potential of buildings that are undistinguished and overlooked. Suburban platt homes, garages, cottages, etc. Garages, vacation cottages, ice fishing huts, etc...are all part of the contemporary landscape. These subjects are ...rich with visual and conceptual possibilities. I initially work from observation, indoors from landscapes I build and outdoors from what I observe using oil paint or painted, cut paper. Painting from observation strips the buildings down to their elemental form. Layering in cut paper shapes lends itself to the same calculated process. Harmonizing with these observed paintings are investigative and instinctive explorations with cut paper." Visit Brand 48 online here: https://www.brandlibrary.art/brand48