* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Brian Prugh was born in Logansport, IN. He earned a BA in Philosophy and Mathematics from Knox College, an MA in Philosophy from The University of Chicago, an MA in Drawing and Painting from the The University of Iowa and is currently working towards an MFA.
Brian explains his work by saying, “My recent work exists in a boundary-zone between painting, drawing and sculpture. My investigations began in painting, especially geometric and gestural abstraction, but have evolved into a more interdisciplinary practice involving the languages of drawing and sculpture. The material supports of my recent work project into and recede from the space in front of the picture plane. In the monochromatic tulle works especially, value composed of the interaction of light, shadow and the translucent material of the work creates a kind of drawn space. The tulle works are made by attaching layers of cut tulle to a wooden frame; each layer is separated by a thin strip of wood. The overlapping weave structures of the fabric layers create interference (Moiré) patterns. These patterns change as the viewer moves, resulting in a kind of moving image. Under directional lighting, the tulle casts a shadow barely distinguishable from the fabric itself, which doubles the forms in the work, suggesting depth when seen from a distance. The words I choose are significant; often taken from literature, they are words that I carry with me and that reappear in my consciousness with some frequency. Through repetition in my mind and the repetitive cutting-out of the words, I often learn something about what they have to say. The titles of the works reproduce the words written in them. “
