Meet Patrick Brien

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Brien.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Patrick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Like most artists, I gravitated towards drawing at an early age. I mostly made weird drawings of cars, people in space suits, and sports figures. The Chicago Bulls logo was a frequent subject for me as a kid. Then, in elementary school, we had this exploratory program where the teachers would offer condensed workshop classes that you could choose to take on Friday afternoons. I think it was the fifth grade that I took a drawing course. That was the first time I can remember actively choosing and seeking out a space to draw and make art. I just knew that it was something I wanted to do.

I continued taking art and graphic design classes throughout high school. When I got to college, I knew immediately I was going to major in art, studying painting and printmaking. After graduating, I didn’t really know what I was going to do. I went around to Nashville galleries dropping off my resume and talking to people not really expecting anything to come of it. In a stroke of luck, one of those conversations led to a referral to interview for a preparator job at a well-established gallery in town. I ended up working at Cumberland Gallery for eight years and learned a lot about the retail business side of the art world. I also got to know many of the gallery’s artists pretty well and got to see the evolution of their work over time. I was continuing to make my own work during this period but was very protective of letting it out of the studio. Looking back, I think I was growing and trying out some new ideas that I wasn’t comfortable showing at that time.

I had always felt a desire to eventually teach at the university level. Seeing first-hand how artists could thrive artistically and continue to exhibit their work while also teaching full-time convinced me that was something I could also do, so I decided to pursue my M.F.A. at the University of Georgia. Graduate school was a time where I just went crazy making work and experimenting with processes and new ideas. It was there that I really matured as an artist and honed my artistic voice. Since grad school, I’ve been teaching adjunct first at UGA and now at College of the Sequoias for three years. I just closed a solo exhibition at The COS Art Gallery last week.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It really has not been a smooth road to where I am today. I think, like anyone still making art in their late thirties, I have had moments of luck that propelled me forward and I am grateful for those times. However, being an artist requires perseverance and thick skin to carry on making work. As I said earlier, there were years long stretches where I didn’t create as much work and didn’t try to show what I was making. I’ve also been rejected from more things than I can remember, whether it be shows, residencies, schools or jobs.

My thought is that I’m going to be making this work anyway in my studio. I’m going to be living this life no matter what. I try to concern myself with going about the daily practice of making with my head down. Periodically, I’ll surface to try to apply to shows and the like because I feel that the work has some validity to our shared experience right now.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m primarily a painter but also periodically make 3-D sculptural assemblages and some digital artwork. For me, the driving force behind the work is the same, no matter what form it takes. I’m interested in hybrid forms of painting that blend abstraction with glimpses of recognizable objects or spaces. I see my work as somewhat autobiographical in that my paintings often compile and accrete things that I see or interact with throughout a normal day. I’m interested in ideas like embodiment and the way we see the world from a particular vantage point as it continues to evolve more and more to incorporate digital interfaces.

My studio practice is more like a laboratory than a factory. I’m not overly concerned with putting out the product. I find enjoyment and intellectual fulfillment in following my curiosities and experimenting with the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.patrickbrien.com
• Email: patrick@patrickbrien.com
• Instagram: @_patrick_brien_
• Facebook: @patrickbrienstudio

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