Artist Lecture: Brent Payne at Miami University

Hadley II 2008 Oil on Panel

Full disclosure: Before I get started you should know that Brent Payne happens to be a good friend of mine.  I have know him for nearly four years, and for two of those years, I had the great fortune to work in a studio next door to him. Our work, our approach, and our aims as artists could not be more different; and yet I have a deep and abiding affection for his paintings.

Reflections 2010 Oil on Canvas

A quiet man with an easy going nature, Brent Payne is an artist who sees things.  Brent’s work is born out of an intense meditation on his immediate environment. Unlike many representational artists, Brent has steadfastly (and sometimes frustratingly) refused to work from photography, choosing instead to focus on the time honored tradition of working from direct observation.  Though some of Payne’s imagery revolves around the staged still life, the vast majority of his engaging paintings grow from the act of discovery.

Laptop 2008 Oil on Canvas

Payne’s subject matter is nothing less than contemporary moment;  the situation we find ourselves in when we exit the shower, warm and content, and glance at our toilet; or when we stare at the ceiling we’ve seen one thousands times before but never noticed the crack in the plaster.  Brent interprets the overlooked and sometimes forgettable moments we all share and imbues them with a sense of presence. These paintings are not a neutral, objective representation of the everyday.  They are rich with personality and suggest a kind of benign resignation, an acceptance, and ultimately an appreciation of the minutiae of life in the 21st century.

Brent Payne’s lecture is Thursday, March 4, at 7 pm in room 100 at the Miami University Art Building in Oxford, Ohio.  It is not to be missed.