NYU Kimmel Galleries Presents Reflections in Oil, on Display from Oct. 4, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019

New York University Kimmel Galleries presents Reflections in Oil, a selection of 25 abstract oil on canvas paintings and one charcoal drawing created by Barbara Braun over the last five years. The work will be exhibited on the 8^th floor of the NYU Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South, from October 4, 2018 through January 27, 2019. An opening reception will be held in the space on October 5, 2018 from 5pm-8pm.

Braun’s work is abstract, with figural references in the Expressionist vein. Describing what inspires her work, Braun comments, “I have looked closely at the work of modern artists I have studied and loved. My basic inclination is towards expressionist abstraction, incorporating references to figures and the objective, including the natural and social worlds we live in.”

Braun’s attention is never far from distressing current events in the world. In a recent series of abstractions, she focuses on the suffering of Syrian refugees as they seek survival in a new life, (Syria 2, Sea Rescue, Boat People, Comfort Zone), on turmoil in Palestine (Gaza 1 and Gaza 2, Uprising), on confrontations between African American men and the police (Ritual Dance), and on the mistreatment of Central American immigrants seeking asylum in the US (Long Wait, Moving Hand).

Many of her oils evoking the natural world, including Evening Flowers, Night Gardens, Horses, Sunny Square, Sweeping Forms, Temptation, Electric Energy, All Together, and Strange Things, show her visceral responses to visual sensations. There is often a hint of strangeness, of intruding unnatural forms and energies lurking behind these visible elements, and acting upon them.

Braun lives in New York City and Saugerties, NY. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Cornell University, a master’s degree in modern art history from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, and a PhD in art history and archeology from Columbia University, and has been involved with art all her life as a critic, curator, and author, but only took up painting in a serious way about eight years ago. Since then she has taken a number of classes and workshops at the Woodstock School of Art and has had several shows including at the museum of the Woodstock Artist Association. This exhibition at the NYU Kimmel Center marks her New York debut.

For more information about Barbara Braun, visit barbarabraunpaintings.com.

About the Kimmel Galleries: Established in 2003, Kimmel Galleries are dedicated to providing visually dynamic and thought-provoking exhibitions. They are free and open to the public. For more information on tours, the artists, or price inquiries, please contact Curator Pamela Jean Tinnen at pamela.jean.tinnen@nyu.edu.