Brenda Garand: Northern Fiction

Sculpture Exhibition Explores Heritage Through Form

Sculptural works that explore the childhood experiences of New Hampshire native, Brenda Garand, will be on view at the Wright State University Art Galleries through October 12. A public Gallery Talk by Brenda Garand is scheduled for Friday, October 12, at 6:00 PM in the University Art Galleries, A132 Creative Arts Center.

About the artist

Garand was raised in Hancock, NH, where she spent her childhood working alongside her father on their family farm. She entered the sculpture program at the University of New Hampshire at Durham, eventually earning her MFA at Queens College in Flushing, NY. Garand traveled to Paris on a Fulbright scholarship in the late eighties, where her work moved from large scale wire pieces toward smaller, wall-mounted metal works. Upon returning to America, Garand's work displayed a renewed interest both in her French-Canadian heritage and her New England surroundings.

The work currently on display at the Wright State University Art Galleries combines the physical labor and farming culture that defined her early childhood with the trade and domestic skills she acquired in that environment. Garand combines natural fibers with manmade objects, juxtaposing wood with metalworks, creating a delicate balance of opposities at work.

Brenda Garand is currently an Associate Professor of Studio Art at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Garand has previously exhibited work across the country as well as internationally, including exhibitions in Paris, Québec, and Tokyo.

The exhibition is supported by the Friends of the Galleries, Wright State College of Liberal Arts and Ohio Arts Council.