Brooks Anderson

Artist Statement:

The landscape has historically summoned the artist to transcribe its compelling mysteries. Simply put, my goal in painting is not to copy Nature, but to stand back, pause, and dive in, to reveal its depths, to feel Nature, to transcribe what I see (spiritually); and to relish in the act of painting, responding to what is happening on the surface - as if this is the first time this vision has been bestowed and revealed.

Painting evocative landscapes, seascapes, cloudscapes and abstracts has been my sole career. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California State University in Northridge, studying with prominent artists of the Los Angeles art scene. I lived and studied in Maine with William Holst, a student of Hans Hofmann. My paintings have been represented by New York City's finest midtown Contemporary Realism galleries — David Findlay, Jr., Fine Art; Schmidt-Bingham; and Sherry French — and are now found in numerous collections — including the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, and are featured in the seminal book, Spirit of Place: Contemporary American Realism in the Landscape Tradition, by John Arthur.

I am currently living in Northern California, and my work is being represented and selling through Addington Gallery in Chicago; Chase Young Gallery in Boston; and Cooper and Smith Gallery in Essex, Connecticut.

From Dan Addington, owner of the Addington Gallery in Chicago:

"Brooks Anderson is, above all, a true believer in the power of painting. With a skilled hand and deft brush, Anderson speaks powerfully of the awe and wonder found in our experience of atmosphere and natural phenomenon. The beauty of this Californian's rendering of earth and water are anchored by an extensive formal vocabulary and visual intellect."

Education:

Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California State University in Northridge

Awards & Distinctions:

Museum Collection: The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK
Public Collections:
AT&T, NY
Citibank, NY
E.F. Hutton and Co, Inc, NY
Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, Tokyo, Japan
The Art Collection of Massachusetts Financial Services, Boston, MA
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co, Inc, NY
Seavest Collection, NY

NATIONAL TOUR EXHIBITION
The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa. OK “Green Woods and Crystal Waters: The American Landscape Tradition"

WORKS IN PRINT
Arthur, John. “Spirit of Place: Contemporary Landscape Painting and the American Tradition"
Donald Haggerty, "Canyon De Chelly: 100 Years of Painting and Photography"
 

Exhibitions:

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
David Findlay, Jr. Fine Art, NY
Schmidt-Bingham Gallery, NY
Cooper and Smith, Essex, CT

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
David Findlay, Jr., Fine Art, NY
Schmidt-Bingham Gallery, NY
Sherry French Gallery, NY
William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Olga Dollar, San Francisco, CA
Bolen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Neuberger Museum of Art, NY "The Seavest Collection of Contemporary Realism"
Gilcrease Mueum of Art, Tulsa, OK "American Art in Miniature"
Eideljorg Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN "New Art of the West 4"
Runnings Gallery, Seattle, WA
Orlando Museum of Art at Loch Haven, FL "Contemporary Romantic Landscape Painting"
New York Academy of Art, NY
Sonoma County Museum, Santa Rosa, CA

Professional/Teaching Experience:

35 years as a full-time professional artist
10 years as a teacher of oil painting
25 years as a professional percussionist

Artistic Influences:

I spent a year in southern France, completing over fifty paintings in the symbolic style of the Nabis, which was founded by Gauguin. I paint in multiple layers, with a heavy influence of the energetic work of Richard Diebenkorn in the underpainting. One client of mine recently saw a post of my painting, "Praying for Land, no. 4," and exclaimed, “Turner!" I take it very seriously that I consider myself a Modern Luminist — much like JMW Turner, but also a contemporary contribution to American Luminism of the Hudson River School II.

Tags:

luminism, cloudscape, photorealism, classical, realism, contemporary