Muse Gallery is pleased to announce Re-Member, an exhibition by Muse artist member, Rashidah Salam and guest artist, Deborah Bruns-Thomas. Re-Member features new sculptural work and paintings by Rashidah Salam and new paintings by Bruns-Thomas.
Artist Statement by Rashidah Salam
My work reflects my study in comparing design from other cultures to my own as an immigrant from Malaysia. The layering effect is, therefore, the result of amalgamating the varying textile patterns, decorative and architectural elements, and sculptural objects traditional to my country and of those I have experienced in my travels and research.
One of the more interesting aspects is when I can incorporate unexpected and found materials, and using my learned skills, present novel end results. I appreciate incorporating mundane or discarded materials into my painted works, such as abandoned hobby items or leftover bits of broken materials that once held value or significance. This process brings new life and new uses to such remnants. I use patterns and shapes of color as guides for arranging compositions. I draw upon traditional textile and decorative patterns from my upbringing when starting a new work. My work reflects my study in comparing design from other cultures to my own. In addition, I think about and present layers of patterns and color in the way I view and create three-dimensional objects and sculpture. The layering effect is, therefore, the result of amalgamating the varying textile patterns, decorative and architectural elements, and sculptural objects traditional to my country and of those I have experienced in my travels and research.
I want to create a landscape that elicits a combination of magnolia and Ashoka flowers that evokes the layering effects of my painting style. This layering represents the passage of time and the circular nature of culmination and renewal. Through my flower-scape, I desire to create a scene of exuberance contrasted with a feeling of endurance. Both are expressed through the adding and subtracting inherent in the layering process. The flowers are a representation of life. Flowers regenerate the feeling of a new life, a new beginning. Utilizing the overall flower composition, I also want to incorporate into the design, pattern motifs of such flowers to create a unique dreamscape feeling.
The Magnolia, Lily and Ashoka flowers have special significance to me. The magnolia tree in front of our house starts to bloom by late March and is interestingly followed by our lily plants: when the magnolia flowers fall the lily starts to bloom. The Ashoka flowers keep on blooming in my memory.
Artist Statement by Deborah Bruns-Thomas
I make whimsical still life paintings depicting candy, porcelain dishes and sculpted animals. Often small in scale with rich colors and expressive brush strokes, my boldly painted arrangements of sugary confections become imaginary and fantastical scenes of plenty. I work from life, recreating scenes of temptations and indulgences with faint echoes of fairytales and nursery rhymes.
Website: deborahbrunsthomas.com