CASPER BRINDLE: NUMINA by william turner

CASPER BRINDLE NUMINA

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY

CASPER BRINDLE NUMINA

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the recent Palisades and Altadena fires, and William Turner Gallery stands in solidarity with the Los Angeles community as it starts to heal.

In light of the devastating fires, William Turner Gallery made the decision to postpone the “Numina” opening by one week, prioritizing reflection, support, and collective resilience.

Art has always been a source of solace and strength. Gathering at the “Numina” opening a week later than initially planned, we not only celebrated art but also came together in a spirit of hope and renewal.

NUMINA

William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Numina, Casper Brindle’s first solo exhibition at the gallery in four years. In the interim, Brindle has had numerous national and international exhibitions, including an extensive exhibition in 2022 at The Luckman Gallery, Cal State LA. Numina will run from January 25March 22, 2025.

Numina, presents two bodies of work, Light Glyphs and Veils, each of which involve dramatic investigations into light, color and the fluid, ever shifting nature of perception. The exhibition ranges from painting to sculpture, and exemplifies Brindle’s restless experimentation and evolving modes of expression. The works are poetic, sensual and spatially dynamic. Utilizing automotive paints and pigmented acrylic, Brindle has created works that reflect and diffuse light in ways that are nuanced and engaging.

Brindle’s Light Glyph’s, are luminescent and mercurial sculptures, constantly shifting in hue as the viewer moves around them. Absorbing and reflecting light, they have a meditative quality that calls one’s attention to the moment, and the subtle shifts within that moment.

The word Light, in the series’ title, references perception and the power of light to illuminate, to inspire, and to guide. The glowing vertical bands in the center are the Glyphs, which act as mantra-like focal points for the viewer. The Glyphs also reference ancient, pre-linguistic modes of communication, where symbols or marks were carved in relief to convey ideas in lieu of words. This exhibition introduces new extensions to the series, where, in addition to single works, the Light Glyphs are presented now in various groupings, which foster a rhythmic, jazz-like interaction to one’s experience.

The Veils introduce Brindle’s newest series, where diaphanous washes of color float on elegantly suspended sheets of acrylic. Painted in layers from the back of these sleek, crystalline surfaces, the paintings are bold and captivating. For Brindle, they are an abstracted homage to those moments of awe, where we find ourselves in nature’s thrall. Unsurprisingly, Brindle cites his love of nature, and the ocean in particular, as major sources of inspiration, where the artist has spent innumerable hours studying the sensory effects of light across its constantly changing surfaces.

Numina also presents Brindle at the dynamic leading edge of a dialogue, between artwork and viewer, that began in Southern California in the late 60s and early 70s and became known as Light & Space. The shift that began it all was as subtle as it was profound. The idea and purpose of the artwork shifted; from object to catalyst; from looking “at” the artwork to our experience of “perceiving” the artwork. Artist’s like Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Helen Pashgian, Fred Eversley, and many others, began to explore this notion of how their work could heighten one’s experience and perception. For Casper Brindle, that initial sensibility has been embraced with an adventurous spirit, leading in boldly new and exciting directions.

Born in Toronto in 1968, Brindle’s family relocated to Los Angeles in 1974 from the United Kingdom, and he has called the city home ever since. By Brindle’s early twenties he moved to the burgeoning art scene in Venice CA, where many of LA’s cutting edge artists had studios. It was there that the artist became immersed in the ideas of Light & Space, with which he has worked ever since.

Casper Brindle’s work has been exhibited across the United States and internationally. His work is held in numerous prominent private and museum collections including the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, The Laguna Art Museum, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, and the Morningside College Collection in Sioux City, IA.

Light-Glyph (Trilateral Gold)

2024, Pigmented acrylic

72” x 20” x 20”

Cuboid III (Rose)

2024, Pigmented acrylic

36” x 15” x 15”

VEILS

Casper Brindle refers to his latest series as Veils , a poetic nod to the interplay between concealing and revealing. Painted on the reverse side of clear sheets of pristine acrylic, the Veil paintings hover between transparency and opacity. Viewed head on, Brindle’s Veils appear as opaque washes of saturated color, their surfaces smooth and impeccably finished. Viewed from the side, one discovers their magical, multicolored shadows.

With sculptural grace, the tops and bottoms of the Veils curl backwards, lifting the painted surfaces 4-5 inches off the wall. This separation reveals their translucency, with the walls behind the Veils glowing with richly colored shadows from the light shining through. This phenomenon imbues the space surrounding the Veils with a dynamic interplay of color and light. The shadows themselves seem to possess an inner glow, a testament to Brindle’s masterful manipulation of translucency and material. At the heart of the Veils series is Brindle’s fascination with light, an element that has long informed his art practice. Drawing inspiration from the distinctive quality of light in Los Angeles, Brindle crafts works that can transform even an ambient glow into something mystical.

As with Brindle’s Light Glyphs , the Veils invite viewers to engage with them from multiple perspectives. It is in this delicate balance—between what is hidden and what is revealed—that Brindle’s work finds its most profound resonance, transforming the act of viewing into an exploration of light, color, and perception.

Veil VII, 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 96” x 4”

Veil I , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 96” x 4”

Veil VI, 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 96” x 4”

Veil III , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 96” x 4”

Veil VIII , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 96” x 4”

Veil II (Lime) , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 72” x 4”

Veil II (Lime) , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 72” x 4”

Veil V (Orange) , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 72” x 4”

Veil IV , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 72” x 4

Veil IX , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic , 52” x 72” x 4”

Veil X , 2024, Acrylic & automotive paint on formed acrylic, 52” x 72” x 4”

LIGHT GLYPHS

Glyphs are one of the oldest methods of human communication. They are a bridge between language and image, both record and revelation. These symbols are deeply embedded in human experience, embodying the fundamental impulse to communicate, to leave behind traces of thought and feeling for others to decode. Whether through writing or visual art, communication serves as a vessel for memory, capturing ephemeral moments and distilling them into tangible forms.

Casper Brindle’s Light Glyphs series taps into this innate human connection, employing the elegant simplicity of a vertical line as a recurring motif. Luminous and enigmatic, Brindle’s Light Glyphs radiate an energy that shifts depending on the viewer’s position and the surrounding light. This energy imbues them with an almost hypnotic presence. The reflective surfaces— an homage to Brindle’s lifelong relationship with the ocean—shimmer like water at different times of day, evoking a sense of perpetual transformation.

Despite their minimalism, Brindle’s Light Glyphs defy easy categorization. Somewhere between painting and sculpture, these artworks are undeniably experiential. The highly dynamic artworks demand interaction. Their appearance is mercurial, altering in response to shifts in light and perspective, ensuring that no two encounters are ever quite the same. In this way, Brindle’s Glyphs transcend mere visual appreciation, initiating an intimate and subjective dialogue between artwork and viewer—one that must be experienced in person to be fully understood.

Light-Glyph (Charcoal) , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 74” x 44” x 8”

Light-Glyph (Orange) , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 74” x 44” x 8”

Light-Glyph (Red) , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 74” x 44” x 8”

Light-Glyph (Blue) , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 74” x 44” x 8”

Horizontal Light-Glyph (Pink) , 2022, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 44” x 74” x 8”

Horizontal Light-Glyph (Silver) , 2022, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 44” x 74” x 8”

Light-Glyph (Pink)

2024

Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic

41” x 41” x 5”

Light-Glyph (Teal)

41” x 41” x 5”

Light-Glyphs , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 41” x 17” x 5” each

Light-Glyph (Rose Gold) , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 41” x 17” x 5”

(Purple)

Light-Glyph

, 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 41” x 17” x 5”

Light-Glyph (Orange) , 2024, Vacuumed formed pigmented acrylic, 41” x 17” x 5”

41” x 17” x 5”

Light-Glyphs (Triptych)

Pigmented acrylic

37.5” x 15” / 47.5” x 20” / 37.5” x 15”

Light-Glyphs (Triptych)

Pigmented acrylic

47” x 12” / 72” x 16” / 47” x 12”

Light-Glyphs (Pentaptych)

2024, Pigmented acrylic

27.5” x 10” / 37.5” x 15” / 47.5” x 20” / 37.5” x 15”/ 27.5” x 10”

Light-Glyph (Rose Gold) , 2024, Pigmented acrylic, 36” x 36” x 4”

CASPER BRINDLE

Casper Brindle is a Los Angeles based artist, renowned for his uniquely luminescent, ever evolving body of work. The work ranges from painting to sculpture, and exemplifies Brindle’s restless experimentation and evolving modes of expression. The works are poetic, sensual and spatially dynamic. Utilizing automotive paints and pigmented acrylic, Brindle has created works that reflect and diffuse light in ways that are nuanced and engaging.

Casper Brindle is at the dynamic leading edge of a dialogue, between artwork and viewer, that began in Southern California in the late 60s and early 70s and became known as Light & Space. The shift that began it all was as subtle as it was profound. The idea and purpose of the artwork shifted; from object to catalyst; from looking “at” the artwork to our experience of “perceiving” the artwork. Artists like Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Helen Pashgian, Fred Eversley, and many others, began to explore this notion of how their work could heighten one’s experience and perception. For Casper Brindle, that initial sensibility has been embraced with an adventurous spirit, leading in

boldly new and exciting directions.

Born in Toronto in 1968, Brindle’s family relocated to Los Angeles in 1974 from the United Kingdom. By Brindle’s early twenties, he moved to Venice and became enthralled with the burgeoning art scene there, where many of LA’s cutting-edge artists had studios. It was there that Brindle became immersed in the ideas of Light & Space, with which he has worked ever since.

Through subtle manipulations of materials to alternately absorb and refract light, Brindle has become a key figure in contemporary art. His work has been reviewed by noted art critics and curators, has been exhibited internationally, and was recently the subject of an extensive solo exhibition at the Luckman Gallery Museum at Cal State LA. Casper Brindle’s work is included in many prominent public and private collections, and is in the permanent collections of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum, Laguna Art Museum, the Morningside College Collection in Sioux City, IA, and the Lancaster Museum of Art and History.