“My work for the past ten years, whether figurative or abstract, explores ideas about a transitory, liminal space. Images of ascension and fall reflect the uncertainty of this other world. Borrowing from Last Judgment pictures, figures attempt to rise, or aid others, or cringe in fear, sometimes all at the same time.
The figures in these current installations are in a state of struggle. As they attempt to elevate themselves and focus on things above, they end up pushing others down. The ambiguity of which figure is dominating, or helping, or suppressing the other probes the complexity of what it means to act justly and how best intentions can detrimentally affect others. The swirling designs that intermingle with the figures are eternity symbols that are similarly in states of animation, usually ascension, which increase in complexity as they rise, echoing the movement and the plight of the figures. The particular locations of the installations are meant to be somewhat hidden places, where these events emerge unexpectedly.” -Brian Fee
Brian Fee is a painter and educator who recently moved to California after living in New York City for close to 30 years. He has had many solo and group exhibitions in several parts of the country but mainly in New York. Brian has worked as a cabinetmaker and furniture/interior designer, and for 20 years he taught art and art history in New York City public high schools and at a local college as an adjunct instructor. He has also been a visiting artist/lecturer in several places including schools in England and Austria. Occasionally he has been a lecturer and tour guide for group visits to museums and galleries in New York. Brian has written about faith and art for a seminar with the Luce Foundation and for CIVA’s (Christians in the Visual Arts) SEEN magazine. These experiences—and those of his Christian faith—have informed his artwork, which usually involves some meticulously assembled structure upon which abstract and symbolic images are situated. Brian has a passion for uncovering the particular artistic voice that the Creator has placed in everyone, for his glory and pleasure. All of his pursuits—whether painting, teaching, or writing—are bent on this goal. He currently resides in Pasadena with his wife, Maria, who is also a painter and teacher.