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11/4/2002

I'm with nature

Brooklynfront, New York

New paintings by Ryan Steadman and Paul Brainard

Also in the viewing room:
The inaugural exhibition of BROOKLYNFRONT artist editions.

Hours: Thursday ­ Sunday 12 ­ 6 pm or by appointment

BROOKLYNFRONT is pleased to announce i'm with nature, new paintings by emerging artists Paul Brainard and Ryan Steadman. We will also be presenting the inaugural exhibition of BROOKLYN FRONT artist editions in ou r viewing room.

Paul Brainard uses the representational form of portraiture with subjects ranging from the mundane to the celebrated. Using the familiar as his starting point, Brainard transports them into a world of abstraction. Just as the central form from the eighties film The Blob pulled out of the landscape and onto his victims, Brainard¹s use of abstraction seeps, leaks and masks his portraits with uniforms and, at times, indefinable accessories. He infuses his work with a balance of irony and craft, bringin g to mind the absurdist work of Samuel Beckett. Everything is fair game when it comes to influencing Brainard¹s focus on the eighties and beyond: from Iron Maiden to Joy Division, mullets to do-rags.

Ryan Steadman brings new meaning to the term landscape painting. He dissects man-made spaces(public beaches, stadiums, apartment buildings) int o simplified shapes of color and direction, ultimately presenting a stage for the awkward and uncontrollable moments of his subjects. Like the Three Stooges and Charlie Chaplin, Steadman highlights the humor(and meaning) in others¹ pain and suffering. The actions range from athletic to pathetic as his cast of characters stumble through their settings. Steadman heightens our awareness of scale through the muted size of the subjects in contrast t o the looming, existential building blocks of his composition. Paying homage to the dry humor of Franz Kafka, Steadman presents spaces that echo the triumphs and failures of Modernism.

I¹m with nature offers an opportunity to question where exactly nature lies - is it in the action/expression of a figure or the reduction of form? Using humor and bold technique, Steadman and Brainard implore us to look at the unavoidable influences of our environment, proving we can¹t escape from our relationship with nature.

We are also proud to inaugurate the Brooklyn Front artist editions in our project room. This project represents the mission to feature a varying degree of smaller projects by artists from around the globe. Just as some spaces have used flat files as a means to present a collective of artists work, I feel the editions project allows for more of an inclusive and three-dimensional result. Editions can pose a question that answers itself ten times over, not once. Many of the artists have developed ten original works(not multiples) to create the whole of their project, ultimately introducing original works as an edition. With the conditions we are experiencing now with large scale, museum-like installations at galleries, I feel the editions project is timely in its examination of scale and the impact it can produce. The excitement that continues to come from this project is sure to create a bridge to Brooklyn, directly allowing Brooklyn Front the room it needs to continue defining its programs for emerging art.
Enjoy.
Mark Shunney
Curator, Director

BROOKLYNFRONT is located at 126a FRONT STREET (bet. Jay and Pearl Street)

D.U.M.B.O.
BROOKLYN, NY 11201
PHONE 718-222-1054

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