Brian Shields
Ranchos de Taos, NM
Wave
Mixed Media with Ink, Gesso, Graphite on paper
28" x 32"
2023
$2000
About
Brian Shields (180 words)
Brian Shields’ life and work are an exploration and expression of nature – whether in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains, the policy boardrooms of the US Congress, or in the privacy of his studio. Born into an international artistic family, Shields’ art has been influenced by his origins in Barcelona, Spain, and his extensive travels throughout Europe, North America and Japan. Prior to establishing his home and studio in the mountains of northern New Mexico, he studied and worked in theatre and visual arts in Paris and New York. Shields went on to become a wilderness guide, leading river, mountain, and canyon expeditions throughout the southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau, and in 1988 became the founder and director of Amigos Bravos: Because Water Matters, a nationally recognized advocacy organization for the protection and restoration of the waters of New Mexico. While continuing his environmental advocacy, Shields is dedicated full time to his studio art practice. Shields exhibits in Los Angeles, Denver, Taos, and Barcelona. He lives with his wife, poet Sawnie Morris, in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.
www.brianshieldsart.com
Artist Statement
My artistic challenge is to experience total abandonment in my painting while maintaining conscious integrity in terms of gesture, brushwork, mark, and materials. My process, whether running rivers, skiing down a mountain, painting, or playing the electronic keyboard, has always been one of jumping into the physical and emotional theater of the medium and working with the eros of it even as I’m letting it take me. My aim is to stay in the process, as with following one’s breath when meditating. Abstract art, like jazz improvisation, never lies –– so if I maintain that focus, that integrity, that sense of play, I trust the results to be genuine.
Art from Brian Shields in other TAAC exhibitions
This is Brian Shields's first TAAC exhibition