works by
Brian Mains

Reception: Saturday, January 9, 2016 | 7 - 11 pm
Exhibition: January 9 - February 7, 2016

Beset by Demons, 2010
Acrylic on canvas | 66 x 48 in. | $20,000

Gregorio Escalante Gallery presents an exhibition of 9 new paintings and a selection of 15 drawings by Brian Mains. "Intersection of Light and Darkness" is a continuation of the artist’s exploration of the themes of change and transformation as they relate to the human condition and desire for transcendence. In the work Mains creates relationships between the (light) divine or transcendent elements and the (dark) destructive or unsettling ones. 

Brian Mains was born in Binghamton, New York in 1950.  After graduating high school in 1968 he moved to Houston, Texas to attend the University of Houston where he received a BFA in 1973. While in Houston he exhibited his work in numerous group shows and solo exhibitions. In 1981 he moved to Southern California where he has continued to exhibit his work both locally and nationally. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Monrovia, California. During his career he has earned critical acclaim as evidenced below:

“Mains uses the human body as an arena for theatricalizing the otherwise inner experience of spiritual transformation. With deft handling of the acrylic medium, he illuminates the destruction of flesh through wounds, fire and death in order to suggest realms beyond the physical. Their illustration-like clarity and pumped-up vigor make the paintings seem the denouements of mysterious, epic adventures like those of say, Tasso and Spenser. Yet the deeper ambiguities of the works are completely contemporary, hinting at the profound disquiet that lies beneath our culture's rampant superficiality.”
     –Michael Duncan, Art in America (Review)

“With his inner authority, understanding of history, symbolism and allegory, combined with his technical ability… Mains has found a way to create complex, layered and relevant images about the human condition, a difficult task in any age for any artist.”
    –Meg Linton, Juxtapoz (June 2015, number 173)