Arden Bendler Browning

Philadelphia, PA

Arden Bendler Browning

http://www.ardenbendlerbrowning.com

Interim addresses Bendler Browning’s investigation of place, time, and home. Philadelphia has been undergoing a dynamic cycle of decay, promise, stagnation, and incredibly explosive growth. As she has built her personal and professional life in evolving neighborhoods near Center City Philadelphia, Bendler Browning has been continually intrigued by the intricate and dramatic histories of transitional places, and the disorienting phenomenon of witnessing such transformational change in such a relatively short time period.

Fast Facts

Name: Arden Bendler Browning

Website: ardenbendlerbrowning.com ; bridgettemayergallery.com/artists/arden-bendler-browning

Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:
Bachelor of Fine Arts (with honors): Carnegie Mellon University, 1997
Master of Studio Arts in Painting (with distinctions and high distinctions): Sydney College of the Arts, 2000
Master of Fine Arts in Painting: Tyler School of Art, 2003

Significant or special training:
Study Abroad at Temple University Rome, 1996
Graduate Seminar in Art Theory, Temple University Rome, 2003

Notable or memorable instructors or mentors:
Patricia Bellan-Gillen, Herbert Olds, Frank Bramblett, Dona Nelson

Particular field of study or class work:
Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking

Major influences/admired artists:
I am most influenced by the particularities of place, specifically the places in which I spend a lot of time, American history (positive and negative), the patterns of urban development, landscape, color, light, overlapping and compressed sense of time and motion. Books and film which focus on these qualities have influenced me as much as other visual artists. Notable books/authors/films: Tree of Codes, Toni Morrison, Ben Lerner, Marilynne Robinson, Karen Russell.

Favorite materials or media:
I have been painting with Flashe for several years now, and am totally hooked. The intense pigmentation and opacity (and ability to also use transparently) seem to match my love of color and what I aim to reflect in my paintings. Flashe also allows for an exciting range of layering to build and be revealed, which is a key aspect of my practice. My second favorite tool is the camera in my smartphone. My phone gallery has become my sketchbook. I take a lot of photographs, sometimes get back to drawing, and try to shake up my studio practice by exploring a different medium (and collaboration) on occasion (video/animation/photoshop, thus far) especially with site specific projects, but painting is my true love. I like to have a wide variety of brushes and other tools to make marks. Big sponges are a favorite.

Gallery Representation (when Convention Center acquired artwork):
Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia, PA.

the artist