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JIM BRAINARD
Bits & Pieces
bruno david gallery
JIM BRAINARD Bits & Pieces
March 10 - April 22, 2023 Bruno David Gallery 7513 Forsyth Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri 63105, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Founder/Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition “Bits & Pieces” at Bruno David Gallery. Editor: Bruno L. David Catalogue Designer: Kenya Mitchell and Hazel Tao Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Jim Brainard and Bruno David Gallery Photographs by Bruno David Gallery Cover image: Untitled, 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 5 inches (12.7 x 12.7 cm.) First Edition Copyright ©2023 Jim Brainard and Bruno David Gallery All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery
CONTENTS
AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY
AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID
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I am pleased to present Bits & Pieces an exhibition by Jim Brainard. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Jim Brainard creates assemblages made from found often-neglected objects such as tree bark, used matches, and corrugated cardboard. He also scavenges small mysterious pieces of trash to be used in future projects. His view of the environment and looking at common objects in a different way makes his small, detailed assemblages thought provoking. By careful execution Jim arranges the found items into collages that are visually appealing. By creating these assemblages from found items Jim’s abstract compositions inspire contemplation. Assemblage “à la Joseph Cornell” became an important mode of creation for Jim Brainard. Jim begins by assembling disparate elements of pre-existing, non-art everyday objects that create a pleasing composition. As the piece progresses the “Bits and Pieces” meld together to create a finished work. It is one thing to collect the disparate items, but it is quite another to arrange the items in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Assemblage became a way to express not only aesthetic choices but also conveys civil and social meaning. By accumulating pre-existing items that are visually appealing. Jim Brainard, influenced by the Surrealists and Joseph Cornell, has created intimate works that are environmentally sound. The more mysterious the item’s origin the more compelling addition it is to a creation. Although the collages are two dimensional, they exhibit a three-dimensional appeal. Jim Brainard was born in 1940 in Arkansas. He moved to St. Louis in 1964. After graduating from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Art. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I am deeply grateful to Kenya Mitchell and Hazel Tao, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Taylor Anderson, Jacob Hughes, Beth McDonald, Jada Ivy, Benjamin Levine, and Sammy Wood.
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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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(Detail)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 5 inches (12.7 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 7 inches (17.8 × 17.8 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 4 x 4 inches (10.2 × 10.2 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 5 inches (12.7 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 6 inches (17.8 × 15.2 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 6 x 6 inches (15.2 × 15.2 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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(Detail)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 5 inches (12.7 x 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 7 inches (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 5 inches (17.8 × 12.7 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 5 x 5 inches (12.7 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 7 x 6 inches (17.8 × 15.2 cm)
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Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 3 x 5 inches (7.6 × 12.7 cm)
Untitled 2022 Mixed media and collages 4 x 4 inches (10.2 × 10.2 cm)
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ARTISTS Antonio Ainscough Sara Ghazi Asadollahi Barry Anderson Laura Beard Heather Bennett Lisa K. Blatt Michael Byron Jim Brainard Ben Brough Quinn A. Briceno Bunny Burson Lisa Bulawsky Judy Child Carmon Colangelo William Conger Alex Couwenberg
Terry James Conrad Jill Downen Damon Freed Yvette Drury Dubinsky Douglass Freed Adrian Gonzalez Richard Hull Mee Jey Kelley Johnson Chris Kahler Leslie Laskey Justin Henry Miller James Austin Murray William Morris Arny Nadler
Yvonne Osei Patricia Olynyk Charles P. Reay Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Eric Minh Swenson Char Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector Andrea Stanilav Cindy Tower Mario Trejo
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