Gallery show features Peter Brown

WINSTED — The first gallery show of the school year at Northwest Connecticut Community College offered students an insight into the art of found objects.

The sculptures and wall pieces by artist Peter Brown of Pine Meadow pair whimsy with precision. The show, “Rust Forms,” contains a number of pieces that appear to have rusted with age.

Brown makes a rust paint which he applies to objects used in his still-life sculptures. The process makes plastic, household items appear to be part of an ancient still-life tableau. “The still-life (genre) is from the Renaissance,” Brown said, “but it was never done with rust.”

Students from art and English classes attended the opening reception to meet Brown and learn about his rust paint technique. The still-life pieces were a key attraction.

“They remind me of Pompeii,” said Kyle Versari, a general students student from Torrington.

One sculpture, called “Mermaids and Unicorns,” stood out from the other artwork. “The mermaid is different, why?” asked Clinton Sosna, a fine arts major from Winsted.

“It goes from one direction to another,” Brown answered. “The mermaid was damaged. I brought it back to life. Then I found three unicorns. They belong together.”

Asked by a student which was his favorite artwork in the show, Brown said it’s a wall piece called “Split Trunk.” The sculpture is designed with end cuts of burl wood fitted with saltwater rusted iron. The base is an old metal appliance cover that was discarded and found by the artist.

“Found art comes to me,” said Brown. He locates usable objects along the side of roads and in landfills. “The point is to put materials together that mean something to me. Some fall into place,” Brown added.

Sculpting is a fairly new pursuit for the artist. Brown worked as an architectural photographer for about two decades. In his artist’s statement for the gallery show, he noted that during that time he also built furniture. Several of his handcrafted tables are included in his show.

NCCC art professor and gallery director Sue Berg said the gallery presents about six professional artist shows a year. The department also holds an alumni show and a year-end student exhibit.

The college’s art department offers graphic design, digital media, video and fine arts classes. Enrollment is about 40 to 50 students a year, Berg said. “We’re small but mighty,” she noted.

Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media NCCC Fine Arts major Amlisha Acosta-Silverio talks with artist Peter Brown at the opening reception of his show “Rust Forms.” The artist’s favorite piece, “Split Trunk” is on the wall behind them.

The technique of applying liquid rust to found objects elevates everyday items to fine art, through the innovative process created by sculptor Peter Brown of Pine Meadow.

Leslie Hutchison/ Hearst Connecticut Media Found objects in this piece called “Mermaids and Unicorns” provide an ironic counterpart for sculptor Peter Brown’s more dramatic pieces in his show “Rust Forms.”