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Junior addresses art, inanimate objects in new SUB gallery
Evan Westerfield, Journalist
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On Friday Oct. 22 the SUB gallery held a reception from 4:30 p.m.to 6:30 p.m. which showcased the art of Ben Browne, a junior visual art major from Twin Falls.
Browne’s work investigates how spaces are constructed, and the relationship between objects and environments in interior spaces. Many of the pieces on exhibition combine the traditionally flat mediums of paint, or charcoal/pencil drawings with sculptural elements.
ZACH GANSCHOW/ THE ARBITER
“Ben submitted high caliber work. We worked together for a time for his show. It was kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, because he was interested in having it in the fall so his professors and other students could see his work,” said Holly Gilchrist, fine arts manager in the SUB.
“He is an exceptional artist, who is sensitive to the viewer,” said Marissa Keith, fine arts assistant for the SUB gallery. “He takes everyday places and things and puts them in a new light. He considers what the viewer is going to take from his work if they put themselves in a different place, which gives the human presence importance in his art. By using plaster which breaks down easily, Ben’s work makes a comment on history and the ebb and flow of time and space. And how both change perception and perspective.”
The effect of Browne’s medium blurring pieces is art in which a viewer must place what each medium represents in both sight and proportion and combine the two to come to a conclusion about the piece of art.
“I’m interested in the way things are constructed both visually and socially,” Browne said. “We actively construct the world around us, and while some of that is constructed by others, I reflect on relationships that are overlooked as a way to address ideas about existence in the modern age. I’m interested in our relationship with inanimate objects and how we are encouraged by consumer culture to de-emphasize our relationship to objects in our lives.”
Browne called attention to one piece in representing his personal aesthetic called “Your Puzzled Resolve.” The piece has handmade jigsaw-like puzzle pieces attached to a white background sheet.
“It communicates in a way that invites the viewer to participate in the work,” Browne said. “The idea of “Your Puzzled Resolve” is to present the viewer with objects to invite him or her to engage in a playful visual process, and to ask questions about the way we construct reality. As in all the work, seductive formal elements are used to invite the viewer into a dialogue, but this work communicates in a more direct way.”
ZACH GANSCHOW/ THE ARBITER
“It was never a question of deciding to make art,” Browne said. “I learned to be an artist when I was 19, and started as an art student at CSI, but it’s kind of weird. You’re not really going into a field just doing what you’ve always done. There was no certain point when I became an artist. I always drew, and always liked to look at the world around me.”
If you would like to see Brown’s work it will be hanging in the SUB gallery until Nov. 29.