Brennen Steines utilizes chance-based processes to create abstract paintings reminiscent of landscapes. Layers of oil, limestone, and metal are added to the painting substrate, creating a geological sedimentation of pigment on the surface, not dissimilar to dried riverbeds. Emulsive solutions are then applied to the surface of the paintings and evaporate into forms that recall micro and macrocosmic terrains. The shimmering traces of pigment resemble tidal pools, industrial surfaces, geologic formations, and cellular topographies.
Brennen Steines (b. 1993, Rockford, IL.) lives and works in New Haven, CT. Steines presented a solo exhibition at DIMIN titled “Dispersion Field” in 2023. His work has also been shown at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, South Bend, WI; Jeffrey Deitch, New York, NY; Green Hall Gallery, New Haven, CT; The Alice Wilds, Milwaukee, WI; Usable Space, Milwaukee, WI; and Galerie Kenilworth, Milwaukee, WI. His work is included in the public collection of the Museum of Wisconsin Art. He received an MFA from Yale School of Art (2022) and a BFA from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (2018). Steines was awarded the Elizabeth Canfield Hicks Award from Yale University for outstanding achievement in drawing and painting from nature; and attended the Yale Norfolk School of Art through the Ellen Battell Stoeckel fellowship (2017).