Brandon Shimmel: five paintings

For exhibition SF51, recent CCA MFA graduate Brandon Shimmel presents a group of five paintings in the middle gallery. Shimmel is interested in the trappings and seductive science of consumer marketing and retail display. He uses materials associated with window dressing (polished aluminum, colored plexiglass, pearlescent colors and Trompe-L'oeil surfaces) to project the picture plane beyond the window frame, and by implication, to comment on the manner in which the object of desire is leveraged in consumer culture. On a more purely structural level, his ability to successfully meld his painted surfaces with the partial surround of his framing devices, extends the aura, the reach of his imagery. Shimmel works in the lineage of Yves Kline and shares many formal and social concerns with contemporary Wendy White. Prior to receiving his Masters from California College of the Arts, he took his BFA from the University of Arizona and a BA in Art History from Arizona State. This is his first solo presentation with the gallery.