For Immediate Release
Contact: Sara Mintz
April 3, 2008
212 714 0044

BRENDA GARAND AND DOUG TRUMP AT REEVES CONTEMPORARY

Brenda Garand and Doug Trump open shows concurrently at Reeves at 535 West 24th Street, with a reception for the artists on April 24th from 6:00 – 8:00. The exhibition continues through May 24th.

Brenda Garand continues her exploration of three-dimensional works incorporating metal, fabric and faux fur. In this most recent series of floor-based sculptures, Garand has moved away from heavier volumetric steel sheets, shifting her focus to narrower metal bands that describe space as opposed to define it. These new works explore the illusion of volume with very few materials, elevating the use of metal to a lyrical realm. The witty incorporation of fabric and fur offer a humorous foil for the steel; the works are elegant and spare, an impression that evokes the roots of abstract minimalist sculpture.

Garand holds an MFA in Sculpture from Queens College in Flushing NY and is the recipient of many grants and awards, including: an Artist Grant from the Vermont Arts Council; a fellowship from the New Hampshire Council on the Arts; a Fulbright Grant for study in France; and, The Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Grant Bayeux France.

Doug Trump’s newest oil paintings employ rich, industrial color and collaged surfaces, punctuated by gestural marks in pencil, ink, and charcoal. The artist continues over-painting, sanding back painted layers and then obscuring the surface again with new color fields, a process giving Trump's works their complexity and depth. While the artist's process remains consistent, the work no longer focuses upon a unified, balanced composition, but rather prizes expressionism as manifested through color and brushstroke. He is allowing his own energy – and thus the energy in the paintings – to jump from one area to another, without qualifying it, without constraining it within a preconceived or determined canvas. Through this spontaneous yet measured approach, Trump allows the paintings to breath in their own vitality. Ultimately, Trump is creating paintings with agitation and friction. For the viewer, there is ample room to move into the work, and receive its kinetic energy.

Trump’s works are in numerous private, museum and corporate collections, including American Express, Pfizer, Wellington Management, Deloitte & Touche, among others. His work has also been featured in the annual Art of the 20th Century Fair in New York, and the Works on Paper Art Fair at the Armory on Park Avenue.

Reeves Contemporary is located at 535 West 24th Street, 2nd Floor, in the Chelsea art district of New York, between 10th 11th Avenues. For more information or to visit the online gallery, see reevescontemporary.com or call 212 714 0044