Brandt Gallery

As May is Historic Preservation Month, we are reflecting on the enduring legacy of artists whose work — and words — continue to inspire. Currently on view is sublime work by historic artist Al Newbill, one of several historic modernist artist estates that the gallery represents.

“Art should make the insignificant significant, the familiar unfamiliar, and the usual unusual.” — Al Newbill

Born in 1921 in Springfield, MO, the artist was raised in Detroit and took classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum. After serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Newbill moved to New York and studied at the Brooklyn Museum, the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Art, and the New School of Social Research. In 1957, he showed at the New York Artists’ 6th Annual Exhibition alongside contemporaries Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning, and Hans Hofmann. Two years later, Newbill had a solo exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery in New York and continued to exhibit nationally. The artist went on to teach at Cornell University, Ithaca, and the University of California, Berkley, and served as a professor in the Art Department of The Ohio State University until his retirement in 1976. Newbill continued to paint and write well into his eighties, and passed away in 2011 in Ohio at the age of 91.

“Figure 2”
Oil on canvas
56 x 51.5 in.

“The curiosity of art and life never ceases to exist.” ~ Michelle Brandt

Nine artful moments Director Michelle has appreciated this year.

1. 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞, a botanical garden known for its vibrant “Majorelle Blue” color, exotic plants and Art Deco architecture. Originally created by French artist Jacques Majorelle and later restored by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. 

2. 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫 (𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐠𝐡) 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 is an ancient, indigenous North African craft dating back to the Neolithic period (around 10,000 BCE), Michelle pictured in the Atlas Mountains visiting with pottery craftsmen. 

3. 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞 (2005), a sixteen color Ukiyo-e style woodcut viewed at Pace Prints. 

4. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 by sustainable minded fashion designer and fibre artist Celeste Malvar-Stewart. Hand dyed using a logwood dye, derived from the logwood tree that is native to Mexico and Central America and prized for yielding deep lavenders and rich purples.

5. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚, a novel about the endurance of love, aging and the comparison of romantic passion to a disease, by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez.

6. “𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠” by artist Dana Lynn Harper currently on exhibit at The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery.  A richly symbolic sculptural piece with fresh flowers and peanut shells covered in gold leaf that honors the artist’s great grandmother.

7. 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐮 𝐝𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐨𝐟í𝐚, a futuristic opera house and performing arts center designed by Santiago Calatrava as part of the City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia, Spain.

8. 𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 with artist Christopher Burk! Nocturne blue hues with illuminated golden interiors create introspective works that feel mysterious and familiar at the same time.

9. 𝐀 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧 at Oakland Nursery searching for colourful plants the deer will not devour.

*look for more artful moments from the gallery team soon!

Please join us Friday, June 5th from 5-7:30pm for the Opening Reception!
We are delighted to present, "Of Silt and Solace", a new collection by artist Eric Barth, whose evocative landscapes explore the delicate line between the ordinary and the sublime, memory and reality, abstraction and representation. The exhibition presents landscapes and seascapes as emotional spaces rather than geographical records- distilled moments that awaken memory and invite introspection.

In an era of hyper-visibility and curated digital personas, Cody Heichel’s latest collection, “Soft Margins” serves as a quiet rebellion. His oil paintings, often rendered on muslin or panel, provide a tactile, sculptural counterpoint, lending a sense of permanence to his ephemeral subjects. These paintings are thus a celebration of the “unpolished” reality of the human experience.

Don’t miss your chance to visit with “Soft Margins” while it is on view!

“Intersection, Sunset”
Oil on board
7 x 11.25 in., framed