Brion Nuda Rosch: Brion Nuda Rosch

Through January 2, 2010

Baer Ridgway Exhibitions
Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00am to 6:00pm
172 Minna Street (between 3rd and New Montgomery), San Francisco, CA 94105
www.baerridgway.com, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
415.777.1366

Brion Nuda Rosch , an artist who is an expert at allowing others to shine in alternative and non-profit settings, is in the spotlight himself with his first solo show in a commercial gallery on view through January 2 at Baer Ridgway Exhibitions.

Since arriving in San Francisco in 1999, the self-trained artist has participated in an average of five group shows per year, and was one of “The Folks” who curated Adobe Books Backroom Gallery in its post Eleanor Harwood/pre-remodel heyday.  Just last week the Artadia Fund for Art and Dialogue announced that Brion is one of seven Bay Area winners of their prestigious biannual annual cash prize, culled from a record-breaking 680 applicants.

There are two secrets to understanding Brion’s work.  The first is that IT'S KIND OF BORING. Mixed media collages of nature scenes, sculpture made of wood scraps, and large scale installations of tchotchkes may offend you with their banality.  Materials for sculpture and works on paper include found book pages, wood, and recycled dump stock house paint.
  
The second secret is that THAT'S THE POINT.  A self-taught artist who has developed his practice outside the traditional BFA/MFA track, he allows himself to do mundane stuff, just for the sake of testing it out. The resulting work is often hilarious, poignant, and always humble. 

Brion’s work is heavily processed based, often with rules and prescriptions for the viewer to enact.  In the large scale sculpture "Contents of Studio, Gathered, Painted, Placed in Pile," the artist makes himself the protagonist.  “Gather all unfinished and unsuccessful paintings, cover in paint and place in a pile.”  Courageous and endearing.

 
Growing up
Faded found book pages pasted together to create imaginary landscapes are a scrapbook of found memories as seen from the back of his parents’ Oldsmobile.
 
The family moved around a lot.  During the 70s they criss-crossed the US in an Oldsmobile station wagon as Brion’s dad pursued entrepreneurial opportunities in the restaurant biz, finally setting roots in Connecticut.  Although he played 3 or 4 sports each season, Brion was a self-described average athlete.  Art was not on his mind.  Ready to reinvent himself after graduation, he chose to enroll in Arizona State University because there wasn’t an ice hockey team.

While at ASU he sprinkled his business curriculum with a few classes in studio art but “couldn’t get into it.”  He dropped out of school but stayed in Phoenix, and began his obsession with collage and reproducing images. “Friends that worked the late shift at Kinko’s could use the large printer for free after hours.”  He began making art and curating, working with other artists whom he met in coffee shops.

Putting down roots
After settling into his Mission Street neighborhood, Brion developed a friendship with Mimi Barr Gallery’s director Diane Vargas.  It was a gigantic empty store perfectly conducive to big group shows and installations.  For a year and a half, Brion curated shows, showing the work of emerging artists who were already garnering professional success including Jason Jagel , Chris Duncan, Ryan Wallace, and Andrew Schoultz.  They heard that working with Brion was an exceptionally rewarding experience, with no rules or guardrails.  

Chris Duncan, co-founder of the recently sunsetted Hot + Cold zine remembered the experience in a 2008 interview: "Mostly, I was afraid to let go and needed a push. That came in the form of Brion Nuda Rosch and the Mimi Barr Gallery. Brion put me in a group show there and basically let me go nuts. I did, without any birds, all string, and pink tape. It felt right and I am still building off that installation: investigating string, light, shadow, optical trip-outs."

In 2008, Southern Exposure chose him to be their first artist-in-residence.  In that inaugural show “Portable Ice Cream Stand” beckoned passersby and enticed people who may not normally participate in art to enter SOEX and see the “art part” of the show: Through the course of the month residency, Brion moved objects through the room- scrap wood smoothed with layers and layers of paint- imperceptibly rearranging the space.

Performance practice
Over six feet tall with a streak of white in his hair and eyelashes (picture the mom in the movie Poltergeist), Brion’s appearance leaves a memorable impression.  He possesses a lyrical, poetic soul, and prefers whimsy to irony.

Brion saw his first name spelled wrong on an exhibition flyer in 2001 and decided he liked it.  He added a “stage” middle name (a family nickname spelled with or without the “H” depending on his mood), and tinkers with his last name as well.  Brion may like to change his names around precisely because his appearance is so distinctive. 

You too can be a part of the show.  Commune with the artist at his in-home gallery, Hallway Projects (formerly Hallway Bathroom Gallery) is an unwitting exercise in performance art.  He takes his cue from you, curating a welcoming and informal experience if that’s what you’re expecting, or if you’re anticipating an icy Chelsea space, he will accommodate.