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, he now paints and teaches at his atelier in New Jersey.
v He has won numerous awards for his work in pastel and has been featured in select exhibitions both nationally and abroad. Most recently his work “Contemplation” was exhibited at the MEAM Museum in Barcelona, Spain as an award winner in the Arc Salon, the work will travel back to New York in the fall to be exhibited by Sotheby’s.
He was recipient of the Prix de Pastel (Grand Prize) at the most recent International Association of Pastel Societies Thirteenth Biennial in 2019.
In March 2019 he was the honoree at the 4thBiennale Internationale Pastel D’ Opale in France where a large body of his pastel work was exhibited.
“Contemplation” was exhibited at the International Pastel Biennial in Suzhou, China in 2018 , again winning the grand prize.
His work has garnered every major award from the Pastel Society of America and the International Association of Pastel Societies where he has attained Master Pastelist and Master Circle status respectively. His work has been part of several selected artist exhibitions at the Butler Museum of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, as well as exhibitions at the Salmagundi Club and the National Arts Club in NYC. His work is in several public and private collections including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C, where he has two portraits in the permanent collection.
My work and methods have been featured in various publications such as Pure Color 2, Pastel Journal, Pratique Des Arts, Pastelagram as well as various exhibition catalogues.
He is slated to exhibit at the Artlife Fest2020 Exhibition held in Moscow, Russia as an invited guest lecturer and instructor. He was also asked to exhibit and instruct at the recent 100 year celebration of Pastel in China at their biennial. He has concluded workshop instruction and lecture in various cities all over the United States, as well as China and France.
As an artist working in a realist tradition he tries to create singular contemporary images that speak to the fragility of both the natural world and the human condition. The stillness of his painting offers the viewer a moment of both contemplation and reflection.
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 PSA MP, IAPS MC
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 15th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
