Safe Light, Painting, Acrylic on Metal, 2020

Bjorn Bauer  

Every painting I create embodies a triumph over the chaos in my mind. It's most visible in the first step I take with each picture, which is wild and improvisational. But instead of trying to erase the chaos, I find a way for it to make the design more compelling. Each successive layer builds to a fully thought-out resolution. In this creative process I explore deeper connections to the wonder of existence. I firmly believe that each image somehow animates a real thought, emotion or question. Learning to interpret these meanings helps me to live in closer harmony with myself and the world, and I hope I can inspire others find their own way. I also think a painting should be a truthful reflection of the challenges in life, and it can function as a way to overcome them. In embracing the task of creating something surprising in abstract painting I continually arrive at unusual solutions. Pushing into the strange and unfamiliar requires determination, but it's the best way forward. All the while, I keep sharpening my senses. What parts of me will these painted scrawls give voice to? And how will those who receive these expressions connect them to their own experience?

Education:

Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education - University of Central Oklahoma, OK, 2005
MFA in Painting - University at Albany, NY, 2019

Awards & Distinctions:

2018-2019 SUNY Collegiate Art Competition, Best of Show

Exhibitions:

Solo Exhibitions

2014 Victory in Loss, DNA Galleries, Oklahoma City, OK

2014 Resurrection Body, Jann Jeffrey Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK

2013 There Must be a Reason, AKA Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK

2012 Tensions, AKA Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK

2008 611 Creative, Oklahoma City, OK, March 2008

2006 Above Within, IAO Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK

Selected Group Exhibitions

2019 In-Faux Structure, Opalka Gallery, Albany, NY

2019 Interpretation, Lapham Gallery, Glens Falls, NY

2019 SUNY Collegiate Art Competition, Albany, NY

2019 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University Art Museum, University at Albany, NY

2019 Metamorphosis, Van der Plas Gallery, New York, NY

2019 Neoteric Abstract VII, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY

2018 120° Intercollegiate Regional, Capital Region Arts Center, Troy, NY

2017 Flatstock Poster Art Expo, Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL

2016 Flatstock Poster Art Expo, SXSW, Austin, TX

2013 Group Exhibit, Istvan Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK

2013 Weapon of Choice, Hero Complex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2006 - 2009 Momentum, Oklahoma City, OK

2005 Mad Addicts Tea Party, Art Space at Untitled, Oklahoma City, OK

Professional/Teaching Experience:

More than ten years of experience teaching high school and undergraduate drawing, painting, printmaking and photography.

Extensive illustration experience in the music industry including concert posters, album covers, and additional design.

Artistic Influences:

Gerhard Richter, David Reed, Carrie Moyer, Christopher Wool, Anselm Kiefer, Robert Rauschenberg.

Tags:

Expression, texture, movement, layers, technology, mystery.