Billy Brauer: 50-Year Retrospective

Billy Brauer, Reflection of Spaces, oil on panel, 18 x 24″.

Part of the allure in seeing any show at the Bundy Modern is the Bundy itself: an urbane structure on a rugged Vermont road. The first sight of the gallery begs questions: How and why is this place here?

And so, they’re an excellent match, the Bundy Modern and Billy Brauer. Brauer is an artist who has evolved for five decades yet remained consistent. The Bundy is a mid-century building with bones unchanged, but fresh verve. Together, the two have created a show that is a manifestation of life’s great juxtaposition: maintain your identity, but be progressive. And, the whole viewing experience is a beautiful thing.
The show includes over 20 paintings—some nearly life-size—as well as a few oil pastel works on paper, and many copper plate etchings—all of them figures, almost all women.

Brauer’s practical, artistic skills are so astute, it’s easy to look past the paint and get pulled in to a story. Each of these women has a very natural pose with a deeply emotional, thoughtful, or mysterious expression. She is not staring at the camera. She is doing her own thing. And, we get to decide what that thing is.

“I can be very literal if you let me. But, I don’t want to be literal,” says Brauer.
Piece after piece, the vibrant colors and soft strokes emulate daydreams. Conjuring up one’s own projection of what the story might be. What is she thinking? What is the circumstance of her position?

These women exist among varying visual motifs—red hair, gold hoop earrings, floral hairpins, even Vermont landscapes. While most of Brauer’s subjects are figments of his imagination, some of them are interpretations of mythological women. His 1980s etchings were inspired by a study of the Ringling Bros. Circus, and he deviates into a more peculiar vision of femininity—dark, aberrant and theatrical. Still, it is lively and fun.

Of his most recent works—in which moving trains and mirrors make several appearances—Brauer says, “I’m into going back in space right now for some reason.” Reflection and movement? Makes perfect sense.