Wilderness is a contract to uphold between human and nature for artist Susan Brearey. Hovering between the meta and physical worlds, Brearey’s art conveys that quiet is very much an active art form.
The newest painter on Diehl Gallery’s roster has taught painting, drawing, and printmaking at the Putney School in Putney, Vermont, and at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. She says she spends hours in the field drawing. “I’ve always been drawn to work in a more evocative form and with the essence, or the spirit of a living creature — a bird or deer, or elk, whatever it may be".
A fan of Jackson Hole and a former drop-in at the Hootenanny, Brearey will be in attendance at Diehl Gallery and for her first show’s opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Some viewers might call it a transcendent transaction, moving wild beings from subject matter to spirit animals.
“My idea of wilderness, and as you start understanding the world is a contract that humans have put upon nature, and though I’m very grateful for national parks, I’m always intrigued by these ideas of boundaries and how we designate wilderness versus non-wild places, and those kinds of liminal spaces, and the spaces in between,” Brearey said.
The show is an exposition in control. The pared-down compositions on Brearey’s muted canvases emphasize balance and proportion. “The paintings reward sustained attention, revealing nuance and complexity through prolonged engagement rather than dramatic gesture,” says the gallery’s show description.
“We have to respect the wildness in nature to be able to protect it, and my images are kind of hearkening to all of that, I think, while showing an appreciation for these beautiful forms and ways of defining and measuring space,” Brearey said.
In addition to Brearey’s larger works are botanical studies and mixed-media pieces that compress conversations with historical artifacts and architecture.
“I’m combining more media, and those mixed-media pieces have actual gold leaf in them. I learned from a master of gold leaf while in Italy, which was really, very fortunate and just fun,” she said.
Brearey said it’s always fun to try new things as an artist with different materials. “You know, you can just go on forever.