HELLO
Brigitte West (b. 1991, they/them) is a Midcoast Maine-based interdisciplinary artist curious about our personal and social relationship to the human constructs of “nature” and “wilderness”. Working from personal experiences/encounters, local news and events, combined with art historical references, West creates detailed mixed-media paintings, sculptures, and expansive installation spaces filled with traditional and new symbologies hinting at narrative. West's mixed techniques and materials give a contemporary expressionistic presence to the work while slightly rubbing up against their fascination with traditional composition and symbolism to emphasize themes of tension and ironic harmony.
Growing up, their time was split between the burgeoning art city of Portland, ME and a rural area or Maritime Canada in economic decline. This experience of seeing the past fade and layer on the present in real-time-- seeing animals slowly take back industrial spaces in Canada and grocery stores and condos eat up green spaces in Portland-- inspired an early interest in the history and story of place, and how humans interact with and influence these stories. Their current work continues to put these questions of harmony and conflict and change to the viewer.
West’s work has been shown at 82 Parris, Portland Public Library’s Lewis Gallery, Buoy Gallery, among others. They are part of the artists' collective, 'the Rockland Observationalists’. Currently, they are working on a series of paintings and sculptures exploring personal “wildlife” interactions and another series focused on their local Cement Factory.
You can see more of their work or contact them for a studio visit here.
