Josh Brooks

Josh Brooks is a Baltimore based artist known for his unique style of portraiture, involving a material driven technique that results in an interaction between the tangible representation of the human form and concepts of abstraction.  The interplay between recognizable human elements and loose dripping areas of bold, mixing color are directly related to the artist’s approach of limiting the control he has over his materials and ultimately overcoming the fear and anxiety of the blank canvas.  By acting first and thinking second, spontaneous moments of opportunity are revealed by the materials, allowing Brooks to apply just enough detail to the story taking place on the painting surface, while still allowing a respite from the visual oversaturation that connects the artist and viewer.     

Growing up in Cold Spring, New York, Brooks was exposed to art from an early age, however, did not begin to pursue its practice seriously until his college years.  While attending and playing hockey at Stony Brook University, he began to discover his impulse to work with his hands, taking raw materials, such as metal or plaster, through physical processes, often resulting in forms representing the human figure.  After double majoring in studio art and environmental design and policy, Brooks was unable to land a job as a metal fabricator, finding it difficult to find the necessary facilities to work as a metal sculpture and began to turn his attention to painting.  The idea of becoming a painter was appealing because it offered a more direct approach to the creative process.  Instead of having to gain access to welders and plasma cutters, all that was necessary to paint was a surface, the pigment, and a room.  In a sense, all the distraction was gone, allowing for the artist to work alone and directly with the paint and the painting surface at almost any time.   

The first two-dimensional works were more representational and academic, influenced by Brooks’ time spent studying at MICA.  Despite considering his year at the institute an essential time in his career to develop his skills as a painter, he often felt the art school environment to be stifling and ultimately oppressing in terms of truly finding originality and truth.  As a result, Brooks decided not to pursue his original plan to obtain an MFA, choosing to rent a small studio space in Baltimore in order to dive headfirst into discovering who he really was as a painter and artist.    

Working outside an academic environment for the first time was an incredibly daunting yet ultimately rewarding experience. The work began to move away from spending hours in the studio, perfecting non-essential details, force-feeding a visual story to the viewer, and more towards a material driven form of abstraction.  Instead of staring at the blank painting surface trying to pre-plan a scenario or image, Brooks began following impulse, using methods that  limit his surface contact in order to take away his own control as a creator, allowing both the paint and painting surface to dictate the actions and events that take place in his portraits. These techniques include applying access amounts of paint with sticks, paint stirrers, and oversized brushes and brooms often found at Home Depot, rather than an arts and crafts store.  The application of oil paint is only used as the icing on the cake, so to speak, as it allows the artist to place focus on specific, critical moments in the visual story, providing just enough reality to create a sense of calm and focus in often loose and chaotic compositions.  

Brooks’ work can be seen as a reaction to the constant visual over saturation we experience in our society today.  By following impulse and material, rather than a representational form of storytelling, the artist is able to create something not only unique, but primal and authentic as the works often only hint at the appearance of being.  Using the techniques developed through his formal training and combining them with eclectic influences ranging from graffiti art to advertising, Brooks looks to combine his American visual experience into one single form that is truly unique and specific to the artist himself.