Award-winning sculptor & furniture maker based in south Louisiana.
Rick Brunner was born in the mid-fifties in New Orleans, Louisana. Introduced to woodworking by his father and to art by his mother, Brunner grew to discover his own sculptural talents. His passion for creating three-dimensional objects as a boy coupled with the culturally rich influences of growing up in South Louisiana led him to pursue a career in art. After receiving his master’s degree in sculpture at the University of Notre Dame, he returned to work in Louisiana and learned the craft of furniture making as well. Brunner’s sculpture and furniture have been exhibited across the country in both regional and national level art galleries and museums for the past thirty-five years.
Artist Statement:
“From a formal perspective, I don’t invent shapes so much as discover them. When these forms engage me enough, I appropriate them and integrate them with my choice of materials, mostly woods, combining other materials whose intrinsic values fit my purpose. Often these shapes seem primitive yet comfortable, as though they come from dreams or a prior existance. Plant forms, insect shapes, and their skeletal remains intrigue me. I believe nature to be the boldest of designers.”
COLLECTIONS
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, AL
Louisiana State University Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, LA
Masur Museum, Monroe, LA
Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Belleair, FL
Hilton Hotels Corporate Collection, Baton Rouge, LA
Embassy Suites Hotels Corporate Collection, Philadelphia, PA
Marriot Hotels Corporate Collection, New Orleans, LA
Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA
Southeast Louisiana State University, Hammond, LA
Associated Terminals, Reserve, LA
Dow Chemical, Plaquemine, LA
Ferris & Associates, Baton Rouge, LA
Formosa Plastics, Baton Rouge, LA
Volunteer Hospital Association, Baton Rouge, LA
Slidell Cultural Center, Slidell, LA
St. George Catholic Church, Baton Rouge, LA
FARA Insurance, Mandeville, LA
St. Tammany Parish Public Collection, St. Tammany, LA
GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS
Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant: 2006
Gottlieb Foundation Grant: 2006
Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant: 2006
CERF Grant: 2006
Visual Artist Fellowship, Louisiana Division of the Arts: 1989
“Craft Challenge ’88 MEG/ARTS Grants”: 1988
Teaching Fellowship, University of Notre Dame: 1977-79
“New Talent Grant”, Louisiana Arts and Artist Guild: 1977
“Discovery Through Diversity”, Art and Architectural Design, Baltimore, MD 1988
“New Talent”, the Gallery at Workbench, New York, NY 1987