Opening Reception Thursday, April 1, 5:30 - 7:30pm
Gallery Paule Anglim is pleased to present its first exhibition of the work of Brian Tripp. The gallery thanks Mark Johnson for assisting the artist in curating this presentation.
From a broad practice rich with symbolism (embracing drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry and performance), the artist will present a selected group of small artworks, offering viewers an introduction to his unique and visceral experience. An honored figure in his Northern California Karuk community, Brian Tripp uses his work to demonstrate his commitment to his community and Native American culture, and his devotional interest in giving life to traditions and history.
The drawings and small paintings in the show provide new looks at imagery familiar to the artist and Native American tradition: motifs from basket work, arrowheads, ceremonial objects and Karuk regalia – symbols passed down for generations. Using paint, foil, glass, found objects and natural materials, Tripp invigorates the imagery with the vibrant color and the immediacy of formal geometry. His contemporary versions pay homage to the inherent power of images long in use.
Tripp's exhibition will also feature some of his books and drawings paying reverence to the legendary "ledger drawings" made by Native Americans displaced from their tribes and lands, and moved to camps in the Southeast. Given old accounting ledger books, artists kept distant images alive by drawing their past lives and native lands.
Brian Tripp has maintained his creative practice and exhibited his art for over 30 years. His work has been exhibited at the New Museum, New York; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; Oakland Museum of California and New York’s Museum of Art and Design.
His works are in the permanent collections of the Berkeley Art Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Heard Museum, Morris Graves Museum of Art, The Oakland Museum of California and Washington State Museum among others.