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Brian Glenn Truex |
Revelations in the Face of Adversity
An Essay by Debra Grall and Jeanne Eberlein
"I would not want to live a life which did not have mystery in it. I don't need to know
everything - I don't need everything explained to me. I do need to have an imaginative connection to the world I live in."Jeanette Winterson
Brian Truex’s first word as a child may very well have been, “Why?” The essential nature of the question and the quest for clarity would have to wait. Despite early exposure to the world of art and a love of creativity, his original path was consumed by the practical world. However, crises have a way of breaking up rational intentions and adversity would be the catalyst in Brian's development as an international contemporary visual artist.
Adversity struck hard in 1996 when Brian's mother passed away from cancer. The questions buried in the development of his outer life no longer accepted a secondary role. "Why am I here and for what purpose? How do you render the contemporary world spiritually significant?" Dragged into the light with increasing lucidity, the heartfelt queries illuminated the only path that felt - real.
"It may not be possible, Art may not be possible, but I shall never know, shall never be convinced that there is no hope until I too have tried. I have no illusions about what I am headed for. I know there will be endless labor and I'm not afraid. The one thing of which I am sure is that I want my life to have a certain spiritual quality, I want my soul clarified and that settles the whole thing."
Jean Eardman Campbell
The decision to pursue his MFA was the most 'natural decision' Brian ever made. The commitment to painting and drawing began.
While preparing for graduate school Brian attended a ten-day workshop in Chicago, taught by internationally recognized Master Painter - Patrick Betaudier. Monsieur Betaudier spent over twenty years perfecting the Technique Mixte at his atelier in Monflanquin, France. An oil and tempera technique first used by the Flemish Master Jan Van Eyck, it's a painstaking process requiring exceptional patience, draftsmanship, and a deep understanding of the subtle layering of transparent color glazes. The results were stunning images!
A profound knowledge of painting by Monsieur Betaudier and the promise of serious study in the south of France compelled Brian to postpone graduate school. Patrick's Atelier Neo-Medici, founded on Renaissance principles, was a complete immersion in painting, drawing, and tradition. It was Brian's first international experience and he read extensively from Patrick’s diverse library of art historical, spiritual and philosophical literature. It was also the first time he had ever heard of Joseph Campbell and mythology became a dominant literary force of inspiration and support.
“For although our voyage is to be outward, it is also to be inward, to the sources of all great acts, which are not out there, but in here, in us all, where the Muses dwell.”
Joseph Campbell
Along with its revelations, France held its own unique adversities. A language barrier, being far from home for the first time, and marking the third anniversary of his mother's passing was difficult - but necessary. The seclusion was an important element in Brian's creative development and allowed time for the deep introspection vital for further insights into personal loss. Death enriches life, there is something essential to be recognized and appreciated in each moment. The most sublime aspects of experiencing life and healing were possible - within
the work.
Following his studies in France, Brian was accepted into the graduate program at Northern Illinois University. His strong work ethic, realist idiom, and exceptional painting skills placed him high on the list of incoming MFA candidates. Graduate school presented him with two substantial opportunities. First, Patrick Betaudier became a visiting associate professor the same year Brian entered the university. This enabled the continuation of their common concerns for the pursuit of an enlightened understanding of painting for the next three years - an unparalleled opportunity. Monsieur Betaudier, "el Maestro," was a tremendous influence in Brian's life, yet never interfered with the artistic individuality he fiercely protected.
"Well Brian, you've come a long way since I saw you last. Now you're really starting to hallucinate. What can I say? Awesome! "
Patrick Betaudier
As Brian's materials and techniques continued to mature, he began pushing the evolution of his imagery and reinvestigated the conceptual component. Using metaphor and drawing strongly on spiritual influences he created a body of work faithful and unique to his own voice. It would serve as the foundation for solidifying his international aspirations.
His second major influence began as casual conversation between roommates; what to do after graduate school? A post-9/11 America saw sharp declines in university funding and jobs for new graduates. Brian's roommate taught English abroad prior to graduate school and a successful JET Program application made plan C the best opportunity. He spent the last three months of school building shipping crates and sent his entire MFA show to Japan.
"Teaching English in Japan was the toughest job I ever had." With three elementary schools, one junior high, and over 800 students, it was a rough start. Then adversity struck again when Brian broke his leg in a bicycle accident and a month of misdiagnosis led to emergency surgery. Lying in a hospital bed with all of his friends expecting an immediate departure for home - Brian took a vow: "This is not going to be my Japan experience!"
Once again he turned to his creative work for strength, solace, and a transformation of the experience and an unlikely new source emerged. The very fabric that covered his aching body became an intriguing material landscape as the morning sunlight spread across the folds. “Elements I had previously represented literally in my work were now revealing themselves to be inherently and symbolically present within the fabric." Sensual on the surface, the fabric reaffirmed the importance of the intimate and the personal. The random arrangement of the folds were loaded with psychological implications and created a new visual vocabulary - subtle, mysterious, and powerful.
"The simplest object framed by the controlled simplicity of the tea house, stands out in mysterious beauty, its silence holding the secret of temporal existence. Each guest is permitted to contemplate the experience in relation to himself... thus contemplate the universe in miniature, and become aware of their hidden fellowship with the immortals."
Joseph Campbell
The material landscape became Brian's most commercially successful work to date. Perhaps more importantly, it provided critical affirmation of his creative philosophy, and he knew it. "The relationship between the finite, the infinite, and ourselves hit me with such force." Ideas and creative concepts he'd been working on from the very beginning evolved into core beliefs - a felt truth.
Back on his feet, teaching full time and adapting to Japan's unique challenges, Brian's initial attempts at seeking exhibition opportunities were met with resistance. After enlisting the help of his supervisor to participate in his first juried competition, the board of education banned anyone from the local school district from assisting him again. At the time, these were his only friends in Japan. But the Jeanie was out of the bottle and the work could speak for itself.
A series of award winning juried competitions led to a solo exhibition in Wakayama City. These events and subsequent curiosity about the only foreigner in the town of Naga-cho; opened doors to further competitions in Osaka and Tokyo. Brian was now officially a Japanese Contemporary Visual Artist. Exhibitions in Havana, Cuba and Paris, France were the culmination of his perseverance and marked the end of a three-year adventure and the beginning of a new chapter.
Upon returning home in 2005, Brian had high hopes to utilize his international experiences to solidify his reputation in the United States. But adversity struck again with increasing intensity. A series of health issues forced him from a job he loved and dramatically reduced his physical abilities. And in October of 2008, his friend and mentor, his brother-in-arms, his beloved Patrick was gone. Yet, he would not dwell on the loss of Patrick and he surprised himself with the immediacy in which he recognized what he had to do. There needed to be some changes!
2009 would be a watershed period in Brian's artistic maturity. With over a decade of diligent exploration of its complex subtleties, and after several crucial advancements, the Technique Mixte finally felt like his own. From a renewed determination came a new body of work - 'the best work' he felt he had ever done. And the Internet became an essential alternative for expanding his creative presence. On multiple levels, as a contemporary realist Brian's creative endeavors successfully struck the balance between tradition and modernity.
The current series of horizontal and vertical slices, expanding and cutting across black panels; reflect Western as well as Eastern influences. The sensual qualities are reminiscent of his material landscapes; yet, by utilizing portions and remnants of content, Brian's latest paintings produce a creative tension and synergy that elevates and sustains a deeper sense of mystery. His stirring imagery gradually unfolds revealing the powerful nature of the fragment, and the mystery, to render insights discernible images alone cannot express. Autobiographical in some aspects, exploring conscious, unconscious, temporal as well as spiritual elements, this body of work has come full circle.
"The meaning of life is a gradual revelation, the realizations are separated, disclosed one by one, and linked to symbolic experiences which are thereby rendered radiant and transparent, glimpses into the heart of the universe."
Joseph Campbell
The work and the mystery continue to unfold and "el Maestro" is certainly proud.
Debra Grall
Jeanne Eberlein
©All images copyright of Brian Glenn Truex