No. 534

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Eugene Von Bruenchenheim was a self-taught artist who created an unusually large variety of art, from paintings, sculptures and musical instruments to poetry and prose, over a 40-year period. He did not focus on oil painting until 1954, after press coverage of H-Bomb testing made him aware of the potential for nuclear destruction. This information tormented him, finding an outlet in apocalyptic imaginary scenes. Von Bruenchenhein’s typical working method was to begin by pouring white enamel over a fiberboard panel to form a smooth ground. He then squeezed oil pigments directly onto the surface and used his fingers, along with sticks, cardboard, leaves, burlap, combs and crumpled paper to spontaneously create shapes, textures and spatial illusions.

Keywords

Painting
Color
Folk Art
Abstraction
American