Paintings by Steve Brisendine
I write, therefore I am a writer. I paint, therefore I am ... a writer who paints. As a writer, I am fascinated by communication – whether spoken, written, intuitive or any combination thereof. Somehow, we have managed to assign layers and levels of complex meaning to glances and marks and sounds. Up to now, my painting and photography have been explorations in color, mark-making, curve, line, texture and juxtaposition – purely abstract, with meaning (if there’s any to be found at all) assigned by each viewer.
In this show, everything is reduced to one color and one shape per painting. Abstraction at its purest? In a sense, perhaps. Then again, this just might be my first (and perhaps only) foray into representation. In a sense, it’s still viewer-dependent – but any symbols seen here have (or once had) fixed meanings in the “real” world. One viewer sees a long green rectangle; another sees a Libyan flag. One sees a yellow square; another, a banner standing for “Q” in the international signal flag alphabet. Two black diamonds? They might mark a ski slope you don’t want to tackle if you’re a beginner. Each piece, to members of the target culture or subculture, represents a form of communication: an ideal, an admonition, a request ... perhaps even a declaration that no prisoners will be taken. To that end, each piece’s title is a hint at the symbol.
Steve Brisendine is a freelance writer and artist living in Mission, Kansas. He is the creator of ARTKC365, which features one artist per day in the Kansas City area and is now part of Review magazine’s online edition. His photography and paintings have appeared in solo and group shows around the region. This is his first showing of the colorshapesymbol series.
The opening reception is May 6, 2011 from 6-10 pm. The show runs through May 27. After First Friday, contact Paula Rose to view by appointment: [email protected].