Brian Bailey
United States
Brian E. Bailey was born in 1959 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Formerly a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York, I now paint and teach privately at my atelier in New Jersey. Following a successful career that spanned several decades as a noteworthy illustrator, I began to focus my energies on more personal artistic pursuits. I have won numerous awards for my work in pastel and have been featured in select exhibitions both nationally and abroad.
Most recently my work was exhibited the past three years at the International Pastel Biennial in Suzhou, China. This past year the 3rdyear of the exhibition (2018) my work “Contemplation won the First Award (Grand Prize). Three internationally known pastel artists were asked to participate in teaching workshops during the exhibition week. Myself as well as Aureio Rodriquez Lopez and Chinese artist Jinghan Wu were the only artists to participate in this honor.
My work has been shown at several selected group exhibitions at the Butler Museum of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, the Salmagundi Club and the National Arts Club in NYC. My work has garnered the top awards at the Pastel Society of America Annual Exhibition in NYC as well as The International Association of Pastel Societies. I have attained Master Pastelist status at the PSA and Master Circle status at the IAPS. My work is in several public and private collections, most notably the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. where I have two painted portraits in their permanent collection.
I am to be the 2020 honoree at the Pastel D’ Opale Biennale in France, this honor will give the opportunity to showcase my work at the exhibition and expose my unique technique in various teaching venues set up for the honoree.
As an artist working in a realist tradition I try to create singular contemporary images that speak to the fragility of both the human condition and the natural world. The stillness of my painting offers the viewer a moment of both contemplation and reflection.
In my figurative work, I have tried to speak quietly to the audience and seek contemplation of thought provoking imagery. Whether it is in a veiled historical context or towards a more modern suppression of the human spirit, I strive to capture a gestural moment in time. The stillness of my paintings is to reflect the often-overlooked demands imposed upon both mind and body by external societal influences.
Equally versatile in acrylic and oil, it is the tactile nature of pastel that has drawn me back to this medium. As my hands are my only tools, the pushing and blending of these sticks of pure pigment allows for an intimate relationship with pastel. This unique level of sensitivity gives no closer connection between artist and medium.
“ In my painting there is nothing I take away, nor give artifice to enhance the quiet permanence of a subject’s beauty.”
Brian Bailey MP PSA, MC IAPS
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
