Artistic inspiration can come from anywhere. But for artist Bob Van Breda, it usually begins with trash, refuse or just plain junk.
His unusual aesthetic is now on view at Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert. The exhibition, “Lost and Found,” features discarded industrial and natural objects that through Van Breda’s eye and hand have been transformed into extraordinary works of art. A mass of mangled wire is refashioned into a ball that seems to give off a quivering motion. A rusted old mattress frame is given new life by the inclusion of small cubes and balls of color intertwined in its coils.
Channeling his ongoing fascination with these objects from everyday life, Van Breda’s sensitivity to the beauty and power of seemingly unwanted things raises questions about authorship, creativity, personal affinities, and cultural purpose. Yet his work still retains a sense of fun and mischief as seen in a cluster of flowers made from multicolored electronic wiring.
Flowers
Sleepy Time
Ranging in size from miniature to oversize, Van Breda’s installations incorporate collage, assemblage and site-specificity—and continue a longstanding inquiry into the very nature of art.
The artist studied Architecture at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and received his Bachelor of Fine Art from California State University-Los Angeles. Recent exhibitions of his work include those at Santa Monica Museum of Art, Manhattan Beach Art Center, Electric Works, and Heather James Fine Art.
Bob Van Breda: Lost and Found
Nov. 3, 2017 through Jan. 28, 2018
Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert, The Galen
72567 Highway 111
Palm Desert 92260
760-346-5600
psmuseum.org
The Doors Dypicht
This exhibition is organized by Palm Springs Art Museum and curated by Mara Gladstone. Bob Van Breda: Lost and Found is supported by Barron Family Foundation, Kathi & Gary Cypres, Cathy Gellepis & Jim Ledwith, Jake & Judy Kerr, Donna MacMillan, and Garna Muller.
Additional support provided by Rosemarie & Dean Buntrock, Betty & Brack Duker, Jane Emison, Connie & Robert Lurie, Francis Mill, and Donivee & Merrill Nash.
Exhibition Season Sponsors: Carol & Jim Egan, David Kaplan & Glenn Ostergaard, Dorothy C. Meyerman, Marion & Bob Rosenthal, and the Herman & Faye Sarkowsky Charitable Foundation. The Desert Sun is the exhibition media sponsor.
Bob van Breda, The Doors 1, mixed media, Collection of Donna MacMillan.
Bob van Breda, John’s Big Ball of Wire, mixed media, collection of the artist.
Bob van Breda, Flowers, mixed media, collection of the artist.
Bob van Breda, Sleepy Time, mixed media, collection of the artist.