Brian Imfeld
HagerSmith
November/December
Artist Statement
Can we understand anything absolutely and completely? Even if we study and measure every quality we see, there are important characteristics that are beyond our ability to measure. Measuring and organizing helps everyone to better understand how the world works. But the full picture is still always slightly, we hope only slightly, beyond full comprehension.
My work is compositionally inspired by the visual language of graphs, charts, and writing. When I plan and lay out my work, I incorporate grids, consider margins, and arrange symbols to create a space where the placement of something has meaning and is in part defined by our experiences with other visual forms of communications. Grid lines could divide individuals or highlight their commonalities, and a line graph could represent changes between two points but could also be a horizon line. As I collect data for each piece, I determine a layer by layer procedure to incorporate each piece of information into the same space.
I choose many of my materials for the textures they allow me to create. My aim is to elicit an impression about the environment of the artwork; similar to the way walking in the sand or stepping on broken glass might also conjure an impression. Incorporating found objects and unconventional art-making materials allows the nature of the materials to represent for me unclear characteristics that cannot be defined or quantified. Spread over the entire surface, these non-quantifiables are present everywhere.
As a constant observer, I always feel that if I continue to look at a problem I may find a new perspective from which to see it. Through my art-making process, I might determine where I exist within the composition. And maybe you can see yourself somewhere in the grid also.
Biography
Brian Imfeld was born in 1978 in Beaufort, South Carolina. As the son of military parents he studied and learned in many towns and cities in the eastern United States. In 2001, Brian earned his BFA in Printmaking and BS in Art from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His work has been included in exhibitions in Ohio and North Carolina. He recently exhibited a piece in the 2017 North Carolina Artist Exhibit at the Duke Energy Center in Raleigh, NC. Brian currently lives and works as an Art teacher in Raleigh, NC.