Joe Brubaker: Lost and Found
Joe Brubaker: Lost and Found
Joe Brubaker: Lost and Found December 8, 2015 - January 10, 2016 Reception for the Artist: Saturday, December 19, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Front Cover: Leopold (detail), 2015, wood, milk paint, found materials, 24 x 12 x 8 in Back Cover: Valentine,(detail), 2015, yellow pine, Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint, 58 x 14 x 13 Photo Credit: Tim Karjalainen Catalog Design: Donna Seager, Seager Gray Gallery Direct all inquiries to: Seager Gray Gallery 108 Throckmorton Ave. Mill Valley, CA 94941 All rights reserved.
Part of my lifelong project is finding the sliver of gold in the heap of the overwhelming refuse of my time here. The losses are ongoing and never ending. The goodbyes - the losses - start young and increase with age. The Hellos - those beautiful and precious findings - can be cultivated and found again and again. My art is an evocation of these preoccupations of mine.
- Joe Brubaker, November, 2015
Joe Brubaker: Lost and Found
I.
The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.
- Pablo Picasso
-----------------------------------------------Leopold, 2015
yellow pine, Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 38 x 60 x 21 in
Joe Brubaker carves wood and assembles found materials to create figurative and abstract sculptures that reflect his concerns with time and the ongoing process of loss and discovery. The title of the exhibition, Lost and Found, refers not only to the materials, the blocks of wood and found objects that are transformed into sculpture, but to the characters he creates, each with its own story to tell. Brubaker has hit his stride in this exhibition which includes many works that could be considered seminal. Among them, Leopold, a descendent of Brubaker’s previous exhibition, The Long Voyage. Leopold, whose name translates as “lion” or “of bold people” sits astride the framework of a boat, his legs out straight and his gaze intense and facing forward. On his head is a rusted crown and he wears a lead vest around his torso with antique car horns at the back. The sense is of the beginning of a voyage – a quest of some kind. Associations abound and the piece becomes a mythic symbol of the hero’s journey, of everyone’s journey. What is most striking about the piece is the expression on the figure’s face. His eyes are wide, dark and reflective, aware of the perils ahead yet resolute. As a metaphor of the human condition, the sculpture is poignant. The craft is small, just large enough to fit the solitary figure and the meager protections suggest both readiness and vulnerability.
---------------------------Diego, 2015
yellow pine, Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 57 x 13 x 13 in
---------------------------Frida, 2015
yellow pine, Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 58 x 14 x 13 in
II. That which they call abstract is the most realistic, because what is real is not the exterior but the idea, the essence of things. - Constantin Brancusi
Other important works include Diego and Frida. The figures stand about three quarter human size, straight and regal with their hands down at their sides. This impressive pair finds its origins in American and Meso American folk art and assemblage. Frida sports an enviable aline skirt made out of sheet metal and chains become an elaborate bib necklace. Diego has a black cap/crown topped with a gold ball. These fully wood-carved works, along with the large and impressive Armando, the diminutive strongman, Sergio and the series of small carved figures mounted on white elongated plinths that attach to the wall – Jolene. Lucy. Louie and Henry – represent one example of Brubaker’s visual vocabulary. His facility in moving from pure wood carving to the more found-materials based characters reminiscent of his Somnambulist series illustrates the comfort level with which the artist moves between means of expression from pure figuration to abstract figuration to pure abstraction. Lucas, for instance is an amazing transition piece that works both as a figure and an abstract combination of elements. Brubaker plays with the expectations of the viewer in presenting these figures in imaginative forms. They become playful and otherworldly. The viewer is able to respond physically to these abstract works because they remain figures. Lucas’ elongated arm and forward stride, leg bent back can be felt in the body as much as seen. Other works in this series include Joey Boy, Julio, Robert and Tom. That same physical sensations occurs when we observe the wheel at the base of Julio and Robert.
-----------------------------------------------Lucas, 2015
found materials, basswood, plywood, acrylic paint, oxidizing paint, prismacolor 70 x 17 x 17 in
---------------------------Valentine, 2015
yellow pine, Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 58 x 14 x 13 in
Artist Chuck Close once said, Sculpture occupies real space like we do... you walk around it and relate to it almost as another person or another object. In his purely abstract series, Mojave, Brubaker transforms pure painting into object, bringing it into our physical space. The artist bows a head to Louise Nevelson replacing black with white, but the works have a decidedly Brubaker aesthetic in his love of incorporating surprising materials and in the way each element is given room to breathe. Other abstract works, like James (Looking) and Pasquale’s Room place figures within an abstract plane creating an inhabited alternative space.
III. At a certain point, I just put the building and the art impulse together. I decided that building was a legitimate way to make sculpture.
- Martin Puryear
The last completed work for the exhibition is the large wall sculpture,Valentine. This elegant framework piece is more reminiscent of Martin Puryear, whose work has an emphasis on primary structures and a dedication to craft. (see inset image.) The entire structure of the work can be seen – inside and out - with its pleasing curves and patina of time. It might be reminiscent of modernist sculpture, simple in shape like Brancusi or Arp, but also of African sculpture, carpentry and shipbuilding. In all of Brubaker’s explorations, it is the details that draw us in –the way a head might tilt, or a pipe becomes an arm, the finishes and constructions of forms and the orchestration of materials. He has been at this for a long time at this point his ease and mastery of materials is evident, allowing him to explore new concepts and revisit old ones with his characteristic curiosity, freshness and sense of discovery. Donna Seager, November 2015
---------------------------Martin Puryear, Bower, 1980 spruce and pine 64 x 94.75 x 26.625 in Smithsonian Institute of Art
---------------------------Mojave I, II and III, 2015
Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 29 x 29 x 6 in (variee)
---------------------------Enrique, 2015
Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 34 x 13 x 13 in
---------------------------Armando, 2015
Port Orford cedar, plywood, milk paint, acrylic paint, powdered graphite 69 x 30 x 15 in
---------------------------Beth, 2015
Port Orford Cedar, milk paint, acrylic paint 17 x 17 x 8 in
---------------------------Juliette, 2015
Port Orford cedar, Alaskan cedar, milk paint, acrylic paint, prismacolor 36 x 27 x 15 in
---------------------------Sergio, 2015
Port Orford cedar, milk paint, acrylic paint 41 x 10 x 12 in
---------------------------Maya, 2015
cypress, acrylic paint 50 x 27 x 3 in
-----------------------------------Stella, 2015
Port Orford cedar, milk paint, prismacolor 20 x 12 x 7 in
---------------------------Louie, 2015
basswood, plywood, acrylic paint, milk paint, prismacolor 65 x 5 x 4 in
---------------------------Jolene, 2015
basswood, plywood, acrylic paint, milk paint, prismacolor 60 x 4 x 4 in
---------------------------Lucy, 2015
basswood, plywood, acrylic paint, milk paint, prismacolor 61 x 4 x 4 in
---------------------------Henry, 2015
basswood, plywood, acrylic paint, milk paint, prismacolor 61 x 4 x 4 in
---------------------------Icarus, 2015 (above)
plywood, Port Orford cedar, basswood, milk paint, acrylic paint 31 x 35 x 6 in
---------------------------Theo, 2015 (right)
Alaskan cedar, Port Orford cedar, cardboard, found materials, acrylic paint, oxidizing paint 33 x 40 x 13 in
---------------------------Julio, 2015
(far left) steel, plywood, masonite, found materials, basswood, acrylic paint 64 x 16 x 28 in
---------------------------Tom, 2015
(left) steel, found metal, basswood, milk paint, acrylic paint 66 x 28 x 9 in
---------------------------Robert, 2015
(far right) found metal, steel, basswood, acrylic paint 67 x 13 x 17 in
---------------------------Joey Boy, 2015 (right) steel, found materials, basswood, acrylic paint, milk paint 64 x 12 x 22 in
---------------------------Pasqual’s House, 2015
found materials, basswood, Port Orford Cedar, milk paint, acrylic paint 41 x 48 x 6 in
---------------------------James (Looking), 2015
found materials, Port Orford cedar, basswood, milk paint, acrylic paint 29 x 46 x 8 in
-----------------------------Tumbling Woman, 2015 yellow pine, milk paint 46 x 30 x 3 in
-----------------------------Tumbling Man, 2015
yellow pine, milk paint 43 x 36 x 3 in
---------------------------Mojave IV, 2015
Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 32 x 29 x 5 in
Joe Brubaker: Collaborations Founded by Joe Brubaker in 2009, the Exquisite Gardeners are a team of curious, hardworking people from all walks of life who cooperate to create transformative art installations from everyday materials. For more information please visit The Exquisite Garden Project website. ( www.exquisitegardenproject.com) Among the artists that have participated with Joe in these endeavors are artists Holden Crane and Guy Mayanobe, who collaborated with Joe to make two very exciting sculptures for the Lost and Found exhibition.
Joe Brubaker: Holden Crane
Holden Crane, a member of the Exquisite Gardeners Collaborative Art Group founded by Joe Brubaker, is a sculptor, and painter of formidable talents. Holden prefers to wrestle the raw materials in his sculpture with hand tools, to emphasize the history of process in his work, the hatch marks, slices, and cuts speaking part of the story of his enigmatic sculpture. Humunculus is the second collaborative sculpture that Joe and Holden have teamed up on.
--------------------------------------Joe Brubaker / Holden Crane Humunculus, 2015
Port Orford cedar, found materials, milk paint 32 x 29 x 5 in
Joe Brubaker: Guy Mayenobe
Guy Mayenobe is a member of The Exquisite Gardeners Collaborative Art Group, founded by Joe Brubaker . Guy, a big fan of the sculpture of Jean Tinguely, possesses a unique vision of art that combines whimsy with darker influences, causing an intriguing collision of opposites. Guy works in the grand tradition of magic in art, creating sculpture that transforms the space it inhabits, that demands our attention in subversive ways. Aristides is the first collaboration between Guy and Joe.
-------------------------------Joe Brubaker / Guy Mayenobe Aristides, 2015
steel, found objects, acrylic paint 71 x 18 x 18 in
-----------------------------------Stella, 2015 (closeup)
Port Orford cedar, milk paint, prismacolor 20 x 12 x 7 in
Joe Brubaker E ducation
2012 – Sue Greenwood, Joe Brubaker, Maurice Gray, Chris Gwaltney
BFA Sacramento State University 1976
2012 – Seager Gray Gallery, Summer Salon: Materials, Mill Valley, CA
MFA : UCLA 1980
2006 - Inaugural Exhibition, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael CA 2005 - M.A.C. Exhibit, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael CA
Solo Exhibitions
2003 - M.A.C. Exhibit, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael CA
2015 Seager Gray Gallery, Lost and Found, Mill Valley, CA
2003 - “Mind Over Metal”, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael CA
Sue Greenwood Fine Arts, Laguna Beach, CA 2014 - Seager Gray Gallery, The Long Voyage, Mill Valley, CA 2012 - Sue Greenwood Fine Arts, Laguna Beach, CA 2012 - Seager Gray Gallery, Everyday Saints, Mill Valley, CA.
1998 - Biennial Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition, Crocker Museum,
1998 - Grantees Awards Exhibition, Marin Arts Council, Falkirk
Center, San Rafael CA
2010 - Sue Greenwood Fine Arts, Laguna Beach, CA.
1998 - “Outside in, Inside out”, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael CA
2009 -Sue Greenwood Fine Arts, Laguna Beach, CA
1998 - “In Human Form”, Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene Oregon
2009- Palo Alto Art Center, Retrospective Exhibition, Palo Alto, CA
1997 - Marin Arts Council Members show, Corte Madera CA
2008- Sue Greenwood Fine Arts Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
1997 - Annual jury show, Fairfield Arts Center, Fairfield CA
2008- Donna Seager Gallery,San Rafael, CA
1997 - “Small Works” show, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley CA
2007 - Sue Greenwood Fine Arts Gallery, Laguna Beach CA 2007 - Donna
1997 “Introductions” show, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley CA 1996 -
Seager Gallery, San Rafael CA
Sacramento CA
Marin Arts Council Members show, Corte Madera CA
2006 - Grover-Thurston Gallery, Seattle WA
1996 - “3 Artists” Vallejo Arts Center, Vallejo CA
2005 - Greenwood-Chebithes Gallery, Laguna Beach CA
1995 - Marin Arts Council Members show, Corte Madera CA
2006 - Sue Greenwood Fine Arts Gallery, Laguna Beach CA
1995 - Italian Street Painting Festival, San Rafael CA
2005 - Beth Urdang Gallery, Boston MA
1995 - Group show, Coffee Roastery, San Anselmo CA
2004 - Greenwood-Chebithes Gallery, Laguna Beach CA
1995 - Annual jury show, Gallery 825, Los Angeles CA
2003 - Greenwood-Chebithes Gallery, Laguna Beach CA
1995 - “Seen/Unseen” juried show, University of New Mexico
2002 - Grover-Thurston Gallery, Seattle WA
1995 - “Masks” Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael CA
2002 - Allene Lapides Gallery, Santa Fe NM
1995 - “All Saints All Souls” show, Falkirk Center, San Rafael CA 1994 - Marin
2001 - Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley CA
Arts Council Members show, Corte Madera CA
2000 - Grover-Thurston Gallery, Seattle WA
1978 - Group show, Wight Gallery, U.C.L.A., Los Angeles CA
1999 - Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley CA
1975 - Group show, Sacramento State, Sacramento CA
1998 - Marin Open Studios, San Anselmo CA 1997 - Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley CA
Exquisite Garden Collaborative Installations:
1997 - Marin Open Studios, San Anselmo CA
Joe Brubaker has assembled a team of collaborators who go into museum and art
1996 - Marin Open Studios, San Anselmo CA
center spaces with a load of found and assembled materials and transform the space
1995 - Marin Open Studios, San Anselmo CA
together using what they have brought.
1995 - Academy of Art Bush St. Gallery, San Francisco CA 1980 - U.C.L.A. Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles CA 1976 - Upstairs Gallery, Sacramento CA Group Exhibitions 2015 - artMRKT, Seager Gray Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2014 - artMRKT, Seager Gray Gallery, San Francisco, CA Aqua Art Miami, Seager Gray Gallery, Miami, FL 2013 - Context Art Miami, Seager Gray Gallery, Miami, FL
2015 - Foundspace, Exquisite Garden Collaborative, Jackson Hole Wyoming (in collaboration with the Jackson Hole Land Trust Foundation.) 2014 - Museum of Craft and Design, Visible Transparency, Brubaker Retrospective and Exquisite Garden Installation, San Francisco, CA 2013 - The Nest Project, 55 Linden, Oakland CA 2012 - Cannon Art Center, The Exquisite Garden Project, Carlsbad, CA. 2011 - Campovida, Outdoor Installation,Hopland,CA. 2010 - Bakersfield Museum of Art, The Exquisite Garden Project , Bakersfield, CA.