Brett Goodroad
A Mended Prism – Drawings and Works on Paper
April 2 – May 23, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 2, 5-7:30 PM
Prophet, 2014
Oil on linen
17 1/4 x 12 7/8 in.
The Hindu and the Muslim, 2014
Oil on canvas
17 1/4 x 12 7/8 in.
Madre, 2014
Oil on canvas
15 1/4 x 10 7/8 in.
Still Life, 2013-2014
Oil on canvas
24 1/8 x 34 7/8 in.
On Shore, 2015
Oil on canvas
10 7/8 x 15 1/4 in.
Left Behind, 2014
Oil on canvas
10 7/8 x 15 1/4 in.
A Working Order, 2015
Oil on canvas
12 7/8 x 17 1/4 x in.
Bedroom Day, 2015
Oil on canvas
12 7/8 x 17 1/4 x in.
Untitled King, 2014
Oil on canvas over panel
24 x 20 in.
Distractions, 2015
Oil on linen
41 3/8 x 53 7/8 in.
Gold Moon, 2015
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (9 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.)
The New Brush, 2014
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
Untitled Fighter, 2015
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
Lady of Purity, 2014
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
Illness, 2015
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
The Seamstress'..., 2014
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
Woman at a Mirror, 2015
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
Love, 2014
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
The Secret, 2014
Acrylic, watercolor on Arches
7 1/2 x 6 in. sheet (10 1/4 x 8 in.)
On View, 2015
Aquatint, etching, drypoint, engraving on Arches
9 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. sheet (11 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
Edition: 1/5
Games, 2014
Oil on linen
14 7/8 x 9 1/4 in.
Untitled Radical, 2015
Oil on canvas
63 7/8 x 80 1/8 in.
Toward Home, 2015
Aquatint, drypoint, engraving, deep bite, etching on Arches
22 3/4 x 17 3/4 in. (26 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.)
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Gregory Lind Gallery is pleased to present a new exhibition of paintings by San Francisco–based painter Brett Goodroad, A Mended Prism. Interpreted as the practice of painting, the title is an allusion to the notion of painting as a multifaceted process in which a series of edges, marks, and emotional inquiries are brought together. The coalescing “prisms” range from colorful depictions of seemingly opposing concepts to pieces that reveal the complex and contradictory trajectory of history.
In these works, dreamlike landscapes float in the indeterminate space of memory, contradiction, and movement. Invention, creation, and the inexorable tides of time are all hinted at in these works. In one of the pieces, “A Muslim and a Hindu,” two young figures crouch together in a small tub flanked by a river. In “Distractions,” two figures in a market stand next to each other; as one contemplatively gazes off into the distance, the other is visibly distraught.
Goodroad believes that 90 percent of painting is made up of drawing and clearly views his paintings as existing at the perimeter of drawing, while his drawings are at the perimeter of painting. His works on paper, while hovering in an indefinite space between drawing and painting, are heavily dependent on line as a singular and primary concern. This is most evident in his etchings, which belong to a tradition of painters engaged in printmaking—particularly with the generation of prints with political implications, which can be seen as a more genuine, and even responsible, political engagement.
According to Goodroad, the underlying subtext of his works is the history of painting, particularly as an act of mending a history that is, by turns, humbling and debilitating. Goodroad has also described his paintings as acts of healing in which problem-solving is replaced by possibility. He says, “I am attempting to put ‘misunderstanding’ to work in these paintings. They are thoughts or a series of choices left open, as evidence of thinking.”
Brett Goodroad (b. 1979) grew up in Montana and lives and works in San Francisco, CA. He received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has previously exhibited at the Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco (2013), and the Drawing Center, New York (2014). Goodroad has been the recipient of the Millay Colony for the Arts, NY (2009) and Vermont Studio Center awards (2006), and most recently, the Tournesol Award, Headlands Center for the Arts (2012). He is currently an artist in residence at KALA Art Institute, Berkeley, CA. This is the artist’s first solo show with the gallery.