Avenue 12 Gallery is proud to present: Book Club ~ Brett Kaufman: Biographical Assemblage and Photo Collage.
Brett Kaufman is a San Francisco-based artist whose work is inspired by the numerous biographies he has read. His goal is to take the essence of a particular reading, and transform that person’s story into a visual dialog, has resulted in his ongoing series of biographical assemblage and photo collage.
Born the Summer of Love, Brett grew up in Los Angeles. 1987 brought Brett up north to San Francisco to help take care of his brother Perry, who was diagnosed with the still mystified disease of AIDS. After his brother’s passing, Brett saw how fleeting life could be, and decided to stay in the city he came to love and pursue his true passion of art. He graduated from San Francisco State University, studying under famed photo realist painter Robert Bechtle, and his wife, art historian Whitney Chadwick.
Brett still finds himself inspired by the city he has come to call home, and sees his art as a never ending journey of discovery and reflection. Kaufman’s work has been presented in museums, galleries, and spaces as varied as San Francisco City Hall, SF Camerawork, Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum, New York’s Monique Goldstrom Gallery, and the Rumbach-Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary.
In 2016, he participated in ‘Interpretations of Vincent’, at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, NL. “Ode to Harvey Milk” became the poster and playbill for the San Francisco Opera’s production of “Harvey Milk The Opera”. His art has been enthusiastically received over the years, and is in many collections, including the Rene di Rosa Foundation in Napa Valley, the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, and the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.
“I often thinks of my work as a puzzle that is put together piece by piece, similar to a mosaic. Each portrait has a separate story to tell; and likewise, a separate technique involved. Inspired by 16th century painter Arcimboldo and the 20th century surrealists who followed in his footsteps, my work creates a visual back and forth between form and symbol – as the viewer shifts between seeing the subject represented and the objects used to create it. Chosen materials can include everything from books to typewriters to clocks to piano keys.” –Brett Kaufman
