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Bryan David Griffith
Circadia

2020

$5,700
£4,377.35
€5,016.39
CA$8,024.19
A$8,988.87
CHF 4,684.02
MX$109,645.64
NOK 59,523.15
SEK 56,126.09
DKK 37,441

About the Item

smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and death, object and emptiness, forest and fire—aren’t opposed forces, but rather part of the same continuous cycle; one can’t exist without the other. I juxtapose soft organic lines with geometric forms that convey our desire to compartmentalize and control capricious natural processes like wildfire, often with unintended consequences. Each piece in Rethinking Fire is a precarious attempt to capture the ephemeral essence of fire by using fire itself to create paintings, sculptures, and installations. To create paintings, I burn petroleum—the most definitive and contentious commodity of our culture—in an open flame and hold a wooden panel coated with encaustic beeswax over the fire, accumulating the carbon from smoke in the molten wax over time. While my method is novel, artists have used these primal materials for thousands of years. This series grew out of a grant to develop work for a traveling exhibition about wildfire called Fires of Change, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. After spending many hours with scientists in burned landscapes, I saw first hand how by trying to protect our forests from death, we have inadvertently severed the cycle of life. I developed an appreciation for the power, beauty, and necessity of fire, and wanted to bring what I discovered in the forest to the gallery setting. In 2016, Griffith won the Flagstaff Arts Council’s Viola Award and the Phoenix Art Museum’s Artist Grant for his work on wildfire. His work is held in a number of permanent collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Phoenix Art Museum, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Center for Creative Photography, and Fort Wayne Museum of Art. His recent solo exhibitions include the High Desert Museum, Fresno Art Museum, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Coconino Center for the Arts, and the Griffin Museum of Photography.
  • Creator:
    Bryan David Griffith (1975, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2020
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 2.25 in (5.72 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 2020031321stDibs: LU1375945722

More From This Seller

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Traces
By Bryan David Griffith
Located in Phoenix, AZ
smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and dea...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Panel, Wood Panel

Convergence
By Bryan David Griffith
Located in Phoenix, AZ
smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and death, object and emptiness, forest ...
Category

2010s Minimalist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Panel, Wood Panel

Regenerate
By Bryan David Griffith
Located in Phoenix, AZ
smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and death, object and emptiness, forest ...
Category

2010s Abstract Mixed Media

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Panel

Traces II
By Bryan David Griffith
Located in Phoenix, AZ
smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and dea...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Abstract Paintings

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Panel, Wood Panel

Arise
By Bryan David Griffith
Located in Phoenix, AZ
smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and death, object and emptiness, forest ...
Category

2010s Abstract Mixed Media

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Panel

Fissure II
By Bryan David Griffith
Located in Phoenix, AZ
smoke from an open flame accumulated in encaustic beeswax on panel b. 1975 My work explores the idea that dualities—light and darkness, life and death, object and emptiness, forest ...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Mixed Media

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Panel

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