Wade Brower
Ephemeral Mumbo Jumbo, Abstracticus Maximus, Lush Gels, and Digital Glitches
The pieces that are being presented are part of a ongoing investigation into 4 different catagories. The small scale paper collage series (Ephemeral Mumbo Jumbo) , The Abstract Paintings (Abstracticus Maximus), The Single Cel Animation Inspired mixed media (Lush Gels), and my photographic series (Digital Glitches).
(1) EPHEMERAL MUMBO JUMBO- these small scale works are made using the three classics- Paper, Scissors, and Glue. I use resources from various cultures throughout time and combine imagery that explains a story. Using a traditional approach of figure, ground and the use of space when composing these peces, I find it exciting to relate things out of context from their original source in a relevant and new idea. These collages are to be considered passing thoughts rather than part of an Ideal.
(2) ABSTRACTICUS MAXIMUS- these paintings are made using Paint, Ink, Dye, Glitter and other mixed media on canvas, vinyl, board, etc. used in an experimental method. The Abstract pieces are both visceral and cerebral. The themes of the Abstract works include: the motion of thought, or the excited state when in recognition of an idea. An example of this would show explosive gestures in murky fields of thought and mindscapes of texture and pattern, followed by drips, and glitter connecting the chemical processes in the brain. The biomorphic pieces that are part of the Electron, and Transmutation series almost look like something recognizable. I named them after the Electron microscope slides we would view in science, and I feel that the glowing edges are reminescent of the film strips I watched in awe as a child in a dark room with a projector warming the room while the steady humming of the fan put me into a trance like state. The Transmutation would then begin, leading my imagination into new areas of possibilities.
(3) LUSH GELS- the Single Cel Animation inspired works encompass the majority of my work. What started as emulating the processes from early cartoons turned into an ongoing experiment with a methodology that still excites me. I use a clear surface such as vinyl, transparencies, and plexi-glass then paint the back side giving the pieces the lush quality and manuverability to sandwich drawings, cartoons, holograms, photos, and or layers of paint. My first memory of working with cartoons and the whole process was when I was seven years old for my birthday my Aunt Cookie got me a light up drawing desk from Disney with several sheets of my favorite cartoons to trace and create my own scenes. I still have eight of the sheets from that set, and to me they are priceless, and have stayed with me all of these years. I started working with vinyl in 1997 and use various techniques that I discovered through inventive experimentation, such as heat transfer of images from photo copies, and sandwiching paint between layers with a heat press. I also paint on the clear surfaces that I use in the more traditional method of single cel inking, painting the back side, stacking, and I sometimes stretch the vinyl like canvas. The facinating world of sleep and dreams is how I can best describe what I am moslty preoccupied with in my work here. I believe that REM is due to the combination of concrete and abstract ideas being processed by the brain. Like a pendulum swinging back and forth, the eyes shift from left (concrete) to the right (abstract) hemispheres of the brain. I'm left handed and believe that my focus has always been dominated with the right hemisphere and more so with abstract thinking and probably explains my ADD, countless vivid day dreams, and nightmares since early childhood. Through the use of images and fragments of information seeping in and out of focus, I reccollect thoughts as if in a dream state. In a great deal of the work, the subject matter at first glance has humorous, and light hearted appeal with darker issues and sardonic undertones being addressed. This confronts my fears and desires both simultaneously. Other themes I am concerned with in my work are: Duality, Disenchantment, Metaphisics, Quantum Entanglement, Exopolitics, and Pop Culture.
(4) DIGITAL GLITCHES- these are all point and click shots with a basic digital camera, with a bit of cropping involved. The challenge is to find
something beautiful out of something that would be considered annoying or bothersome to most people. When digital took over the land and at my home I had very bad reception, I made the best out of it and found beauty in the breakdown. I do find these photos to be entities of their own and far from their original intent. When the digital glitches happen, I find, pinpoint, and capture the ghost in the machine.
Within the different series and my work as a whole, I push myself deep into my own consciousness, developing my own cosmology. I believe that a process is alive and gives me freedom to translate myself in many "styles", but as soon as that style is recognized it is already dead to me. In other words, a style is only apparent in retrospect, and I want to always look forward. I do break this by dipping into past techniques, but I make and break my own rules to make new discoveries and stay fresh. An inward revolution is taking place, transforming experience into a visual dialogue. I follow where my insticts take me, record it, and then self reflect. I use an intuitive approach, and speak through my art in a secret language, in an effort to draw out an emotional response from people.
Please Enjoy,
Wade Brower
469-858-2572
Education and Artistic Highlights
Bachelor of Fine Arts Texas A&M University Commerce, TX-2000
Major – Experimental Studies in Art, Minor – Photography
Misfit Gallery- Dallas, TX group show 2014
Gallery 8680-Frisco TX group show 2013-
Oxide Gallery-Denton, TX group show 2012-
Cafe Brazil- Dallas, TX work on display 2010-
G’Nosh Gallery-Frisco, TX group show 2009-
Vail Village- Dallas, TX Solo Show 2008-
Drawing and Collage Instructor- Dallas Public Library 2006
International Collage Exhibition & Exchange (Assistant Jurer to Cecil Touchon) 2006-2007
CL Studios Group Shows 2003-2005 Dallas, TX
Sippora Art Gallery Shows 2002 Houston TX
Brasil Gallery Solo Show 2001 Houston, TX
Commerce Street Art Warehouse 2001 Dallas, TX
Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas-lecture on Experimental concepts using Vinyl-2000
Texas A&M-Commerce Student Art Show – Best of Show Design /Best of Show Advertising-1996