Pegan Brooke in Contemplative Practice

March 31 - June 23, 2017

3 PAINTINGS
3 VIDEO POEMS

6 new works were presented in the exhibition Contemplative Practice, curated by Courtney Gilbert at Sun Valley Center for the Arts.

S-204, 2016, oil on canvas, 60 x 44 in.

S-206, 2016, oil on canvas, 84 x 60 in.

Acceptance/Resistance: still from video poem "Trying to sit still for 5 minutes," 2016

Acceptance/Resistance: still from video poem "Reflecting" [video projected onto water], 2016

Acceptance/Resistance: still from video poem "Holding" [video projected onto the viewer's hands], 2016

What is the connection between art and contemplation? For centuries, artists producing work within various religious and cultural traditions have created objects that allow viewers to enter a contemplative or devotional mindset. From illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows to temple carvings and Japanese Zen calligraphy, artwork has enriched spiritual experiences for generations.

But how do art and contemplation intersect outside established religious traditions? While certain works of art might unintentionally trigger a contemplative experience in a viewer, a number of contemporary artists are actively creating work that incorporates meditation and mindfulness both in terms of process and content.

Pegan Brooke makes nature-based abstract paintings that invite us to pause and to look closely to spend time immersed in the fields of muted color and light she presents on her canvases. Inspired by reflections of light on water or the movement of light through forests, Brooke's paintings consist of carefully organized grids, each constructed with precise gestural marks. Her paintings require that one "decelerate," as the art critic Mark Van Proyen has written. This exhibition features three of Brooke's paintings paired with some of her video poems, as well as a new interactive video installation - Courtney Gilbert, Curator of Visual Arts, Sun Valley Center for the Arts

Participating Artists: Dana Lynn Louis, Pegan Brooke, Meg Hitchcock, Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels
 

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