SPOTLIGHT
Brandon Geurts
by Leah Sandler
Brandon Geurts was awarded “Best Heavy Metal Visual Artist” in
Orlando Weekly’s 2014 Best of Orlando lineup. Two years later, as
the artist prepares for his upcoming thesis exhibition for his Master of
Fine Arts degree from the University of South Florida, he continues to
explore themes of body horror and states of psychological extremity
through visceral, two-dimensional works. With a background in illustration, Geurts now works—with expressive virtuosity—primarily in
oil and watercolor, frequently depicting oozing, bursting, “gooey and
awkward” figural subjects in ambiguous spaces. He says he is influenced by cartoons, horror, and monster movies. “I see fiction as a form
of research. Fiction reframes the absurdity and mystery of existence
through the use of codified tropes and settings. Animation, in particular, has a rich, unspoken visual language. The selective plasticity and
malleability you can find in cartoons has provided several interesting,
formal hooks.”
This dreamlike malleability is a characteristic of much of Geurts’ recent
work. With a deceptively sugary palette of bubblegum pink and blushing peach, melting flesh, teeth, and ambiguous orifices undulate en
masse in the Oozing Attitude series of oil paintings on canvas. Fleeting
references to human anatomy bloat, swell, and distort into monstrous
heaps and disembodied appendages. The figures in the Anxiety Organ
series of watercolors are more expressly
Putting on My Public Face, oil and pencil on paper
human, with discernible faces and bodies that are overtaken by monstrous,
parasite-like forms. “The uncomfortable
should feel comfortable.”
This sensibility was honed in the DIY
punk community— Geurts helped craft
the visual identity of Orlando’s vibrant
and thriving scene, having collaborated
with a number of bands and record labels to create posters, flyers, and album
covers. “Being in a DIY (do it yourself)
punk community has had a gigantic influence on my ethics as an artist. Being
able to operate on my own terms while
also fostering an exchange of ideas with
similar artists is vastly important to
me. Gallery culture is important, but
it can be limiting at times.” Embracing this sentiment, he has exhibited in
non-profit and artist-run spaces such
as Tempus Projects in St. Petersburg
and A Place Gallery here in Orlando, as well as in non-traditional spaces, such as Orlando’s BART and The
Falcon bar.
Geurts’ work has been featured in a
number of exhibitions locally and nationally, including Worlds Collide at A
Place Gallery, Heroes, Myths & Make
Believe at the Gallery at Avalon Island,
and a solo exhibition, Flesh World, at
CANVS. He is currently working on a
new body of work for his thesis exhibition in 2017.
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You can see more at:
BrandonGeurts.com
www.ARTBORNEMAGAZINE.com