Pat Brentano
Pat Brentano earned a BFA from Washington University and an MFA from Tyler School of Art. She is a two-time NJ State Council on the Arts Individual Fellow, a Puffin Grant recipient and a Weir Farm Artist in Residence. Her work on endangered birds received the Curators award at the Chesterwood Museum in MA, an I -Park Residency, a solo show and commission at the Efroymson Conservation Center in Indianapolis and a solo exhibition and residency at the Evansville Museum in Indiana. Most recently she had a solo exhibition entitled, Consider the Trees, at the Monmouth Museum in New Jersey. In 2012, PBS aired the NJN State of the Arts documentary about Brentano as an artist and environmentalist. The institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers also produced a documentary about her work as part of their Transforming Lives Project. Pat Brentano is represented by Beauregard Gallery and Windsor Gallery in NJ and Carter Burden Gallery in NYC.
Pat Brentano’s works explore the relationship between nature and abstraction. Using charcoal, watercolor, ink, graphite, and collage, Brentano creates unbridled forest scenes that invite viewers to see beyond the surface, revealing the chaotic, mysterious, and layered gestures of our natural environment. Her work challenges the traditional suburban landscape of clear-cutting and manicured spaces, offering instead a contemplative view of nature's inherent beauty and balance. Brentano states, “Nature is not neat. It is an ever-changing and sometimes tangled, dense presence.” In this uncertain era of climate change, Brentano's art serves as a powerful visual voice for the preservation and appreciation of the natural world.
Artwork Available on Artsy
Exhibitions
July 6 - July 26, 2023
Drawing on Experience
November 16 - December 20, 2023
The Small Works Show
September 5 – October 2, 2024
Shade and Shape