June 21st to July 19th, 2009

"Well Worn & Usable Art"

Furniture by Robert Brandegee

fabricated by Donald Dicken

and

Photography by Gil Mares 

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    When asked about his inspiration for his furniture designs, Robert C. Brandegee states: "In designing and producing furniture, my starting point has always been hand hewn materials from antique barns and log cabins...beams, joists, siding and cabin logs. I love the warm, weathered
look they have and try to incorporate into my work the marks of ax and adze left by pioneering settlers. I celebrate the strength and energy of those who worked so hard to carve homes and lives out of ancient forests in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
    I'm also committed to function and aesthetic appeal; I have no patience for furniture that is showy but not comfortable to live with. Though my art draws strength and character from the old materials, I'm very serious about proportion and scale, too. My work revels in contrasts...rough/smooth,
hand/machine, heavy/delicate...in creating usable art that is both contemporary and distinctly American."
    Robert Brandegee is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, MA. He and his spouse, Ada, had a management/communications firm for 33 years, and also were dealers and collectors specializing in 17th to 19th century American furniture and folk art for 40 years; In 1998 Robert began designing
furniture. Their primary home is in Pittsburgh, Pa. and their second home is a restored log cabin in Bedford County, Pa.

    Donald Presley Dicken builds all of the Brandegee furniture and sculptures. A native and long time resident of Cumberland, Donald is self taught and has been a woodworker for more than 30 years. To quote him: "I love using hand tools and old materials and turning Rob's ideas into 3-D
objects"

    Gil Mares style as a  photographer has evolved over the past two decades Into a "distilling process" that concentrates on what is in plain view and attempts to pull out the essence of the subject. Recently the artist began to use this process to photograph cargo freighters in the Los Angeles Harbor. I was drawn to the worn hulls of the ships that dock there. These ships seem as great whales with battle scars which record their life-long struggle to survive. The brightly painted hulls exhibit interesting patterns and textures which are reflected in the water. The hulls may appear delicate, tenuous, even transparent. However, the scrapes, gouges, rubber marks and rusting wounds, sometimes from the ships' own anchors, sometimes from the ubiquitous tires found on the sides of docks and tugboats, belie this frailty.  At times a series of numbers or cryptic diagrams may appear on the massive hulls. These messages communicate only to those who assist in ferrying the ships in and out of the world's ports.
     In developing this 'distilling process', the artist, Gil Mares, has been influenced by artist of the 20th century, particularly the abstract expressionists. Gil Mares states: "I try to use composition, color, texture, depth, and detail to illuminate the subject, to remove all other distractions, and invite contemplation."  Gil mounts his finished photographs on aluminum sheets. The finished product is often mistaken for a painting.
    Gil Mares has exhibited his work extensively from Maine to California.  Gil resides in California where he also works as an attorney.