SPOTLIGHT
Brian PhillipsApocalyptic Observations by Leah Sandler
Don ’ t Let Anybody Steal Your Magic , digital collage
No More Puzzling the Hour Nor Day , acrylic on canvas
Brian Phillips is a Florida-based painter , sculptor , designer , and multimedia artist . His paintings , sculptures , drawings , videos , and collages are dramatic and visually striking in their depictions of nature , destruction , and preservation . Phillips is a self-taught artist who has participated in numerous exhibitions , making name for himself in Orlando in group shows such as Threshold at Twelve21 Gallery , and a solo show , There Are No Words , at The Space .
The artist ’ s chosen subject matter frequently features recurring icons and elements , such as animal skulls and bones , scientifi c looking representations of insects and birds , as well as human faces , fi gures , and internal organs . Phillips ’ highly aestheticized works also frequently make use of fl at fi elds of color ; dimensional , geometric shapes ; and juxtapositioning of representational and abstracted forms with a designer ’ s attention to color , form , and composition .
Philips ’ ability to perceive and render natural and realistic forms is a fascinating aspect of his process — a willingness to slow down his practice of observing and making with respect for the proportions , details , and intricacies of nature . His sculpture , Plecia Nearctica , is a large , accurate representation of two lovebugs , “ a monument to something that has become a part of Florida mythology ,” according to Phillips . The sculpture shows great attention to detail and the nuances of the insect ’ s form , and would look in place in an entomologist ’ s study or 19th century cabinet of curiosities .
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While Phillips ’ paintings and sculptures representing the natural world are testaments to his draftsmanship skills and perceptive abilities , his series of paintings , Eidolons , are more minimal and dramatically expressive . The series of fourteen paintings depicts burning architectural structures and eclipses ; bright fl ashes of light enveloped in black backgrounds . An eidolon is an idealized person or thing , or a specter or phantom . In ancient Greek literature , the spirit-image of a living or dead person ; in mystical and occult philosophy , the astral double after death , before disintegration . Phillips ’ burning edifi ces and eclipsed heavenly bodies are foreboding and seem to prophesize some kind of apocalypse ( a sensibility perhaps informed by Phillips ’ observation of nature , and the looming consequences of climate change ). Phillips ’ video and sound works are eerie and ambient visual landscapes , using sourced and original video footage to create similarly apocalyptic atmospheres .
Brian Phillips ’ observations of the natural world are a poignant homage to the things we face losing with our planet ’ s climatic stability . This apocalyptic sensibility is fi tting of our current cultural and geological epoch , the Anthropocene ( the period during which human activity has been the dominant infl uence on climate and the environment ).
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