The dance of shadows and light, the juxtaposition of the severe and the subtle, the balance of the refined and the rugged. Diametrically opposed ideas and designs are fundamental to Colorado artist Wayne Brungard’s show Have You Ever Seen the Back of a Shadow, opening June 21 at the Emmanuel Art Gallery on the campus of CU Denver.

With a background in industrial arts and fabrication, Brungard’s journey to art and sculpture has been much like the pieces he creates, both subtle and absolute. As a master craftsman whose design and architectural elements have been noticed by Architectural Digest and HGTV, Brungard’s current body of work is a mix of functional sculpture and bold art that both defines and defies a space. The pieces, many near 1,000 pounds and eight feet tall, required feats of engineering and rigging to be places in the historic Emmanuel Art Gallery, where the contemporary aesthetic and precision of the work accentuates the superior quality of the ancient casting process.

“As a sculptor I construct bold, often life-sized silhouettes, capturing in bronze snapshots of implied emotions felt deep inside,” says Brungard. “This searching for an authentic revealing of self turns adversity into inspiration and frustration into redemption, doing the work to express what doesn't exist in consciousness.”

Have You Ever Seen the Back Shadow is a contemplative exhibition inspired by a moment of beauty that Brungard describes as “the shadow took on three dimensions.” The sculptures do more than occupy the space. Brungard explains that the “three-dimensional nature of sculpture expresses life in objects where we're involved not in an illusion but in a reality-a tangible object in the same environment we inhabit.”

“Brungard’s sculptures are in dialogue with the broader theoretical conversation around him, while simultaneously transcending it through gestures, balance, surface, and meaning,” says Emmanuel Art Gallery Director, Jeff Lambson. “Exploring the significance of connections, each soft stroke of bronze and sweep of wood reveals intricacies in the most meaningful thing we have: our relationships with those around us.”

The larger than life, boldly constructed sculpture and inspired wall hangings will be shown in the Emmanuel Art Gallery from June 21 until August 3, 2019. There will be opening reception Friday, June 21 from 6 – 8 pm.

The artist is available for interview. Please contact Alice Crogan (303-315-7473, alice.crogan@ucdenver.edu)

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