Edgar Bryan
06 May - 11 Jun 2005
Edgar Bryan
May 6 - June 11. 2005
We are very pleased being able to announce the opening of the first solo exhibition of the American painter Edgar Bryan with c/o - Atle Gerhardsen for the Berlin gallery weekend 6.-8.5.2005berlin.de.
Edgar Bryan, born 1970 in Birmingham, Alabama, studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the University of California, Los Angeles. His occupation with painting is based on his intense deliberations of the most varied facets of the traditional medium. Edgar Bryan investigates the historic paragons of European and American origin both in terms of their techniques as well as their contents. He does not adduce them directly but implements his experiences with playful expertise. Techniques and materials of the old masters, such as oil, gouache and acrylic are being combined just as the techniques of watercolours and drawings.
In terms of contents two classic genres define the paintings of Edgar Bryan most of the time: the self-portrait and the still life.
In the form of the allegoric self-portrait Bryan deals with his existence as a painter. Picking out the problems of his profession as a central theme he portrays himself with an intense look in front of a canvas, which shows a plant in the foreground, or he depicts himself with a naïve and amazed expression in an autumnal, deciduous forest with its colourful leaves falling to the ground in a dance-like motion, symbolising the act of playing with colours and form. Particularly noticeable is the look of the painter, pictured to resemble a caricature. It reminds of the mimic studies of the new objectivity of the 1920s, such as the characteristic drawings of Karl Hubbuch, and imparts ironic traits to the works.
The still life acts as an allegoric enrichment of the portraits. Free of all ideological baggage, such as the religious or moralistic teachings of the Dutch masters, the various implements explain the depicted situation. The style of the pictures is closer to the paintings of the French painter Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, whose still lifes picked on the modest life of the third class as their central theme during the age of enlightenment.
Prior to the start of his classic education as a painter Edgar Bryan served for more than five years as an illustrator for the US Air Force. He left the documentary, naturalistic style of those years - which he partly spent with illustrations of the fall of the Berlin wall – increasingly behind him in the direction of a moderate realism. His paintings can be read in many different ways and by superimposing ironic humour and sobriety make a wide spectrum of interpretations possible.
Please do not hesitate to contact Sabine Schmidt / c/o - Atle Gerhardsen for further assistance and visual material at T: +49-30-69518341, F: +49-30-69518342, e-mail: office@atlegerhardsen.com
© Edgar Bryan
24 hours, 2005
Acrylic and oil on canvas
132,12 x 137,2 cm
May 6 - June 11. 2005
We are very pleased being able to announce the opening of the first solo exhibition of the American painter Edgar Bryan with c/o - Atle Gerhardsen for the Berlin gallery weekend 6.-8.5.2005berlin.de.
Edgar Bryan, born 1970 in Birmingham, Alabama, studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the University of California, Los Angeles. His occupation with painting is based on his intense deliberations of the most varied facets of the traditional medium. Edgar Bryan investigates the historic paragons of European and American origin both in terms of their techniques as well as their contents. He does not adduce them directly but implements his experiences with playful expertise. Techniques and materials of the old masters, such as oil, gouache and acrylic are being combined just as the techniques of watercolours and drawings.
In terms of contents two classic genres define the paintings of Edgar Bryan most of the time: the self-portrait and the still life.
In the form of the allegoric self-portrait Bryan deals with his existence as a painter. Picking out the problems of his profession as a central theme he portrays himself with an intense look in front of a canvas, which shows a plant in the foreground, or he depicts himself with a naïve and amazed expression in an autumnal, deciduous forest with its colourful leaves falling to the ground in a dance-like motion, symbolising the act of playing with colours and form. Particularly noticeable is the look of the painter, pictured to resemble a caricature. It reminds of the mimic studies of the new objectivity of the 1920s, such as the characteristic drawings of Karl Hubbuch, and imparts ironic traits to the works.
The still life acts as an allegoric enrichment of the portraits. Free of all ideological baggage, such as the religious or moralistic teachings of the Dutch masters, the various implements explain the depicted situation. The style of the pictures is closer to the paintings of the French painter Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, whose still lifes picked on the modest life of the third class as their central theme during the age of enlightenment.
Prior to the start of his classic education as a painter Edgar Bryan served for more than five years as an illustrator for the US Air Force. He left the documentary, naturalistic style of those years - which he partly spent with illustrations of the fall of the Berlin wall – increasingly behind him in the direction of a moderate realism. His paintings can be read in many different ways and by superimposing ironic humour and sobriety make a wide spectrum of interpretations possible.
Please do not hesitate to contact Sabine Schmidt / c/o - Atle Gerhardsen for further assistance and visual material at T: +49-30-69518341, F: +49-30-69518342, e-mail: office@atlegerhardsen.com
© Edgar Bryan
24 hours, 2005
Acrylic and oil on canvas
132,12 x 137,2 cm