Exhibition Announcement: Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr. at Opportunities Credit Union
Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr.
Opportunities Credit Union
92 North Avenue, Burlington
April and May 2009
An exhibition of paintings by Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr. is on view at Opportunities Credit Union in April and May 2009.
Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr. paints Vermont the way David Hockney painted California or Peter Hurd painted New Mexico: a blend of place and style. Brunelle, who is also a cartoonist, brings a comic-inspired illustrative quality into his painting. These scenes have a before and after, even if those are not in the paintings themselves. The moments in the paintings are not necessarily the pinnacle moments. They are not scenes of Vermont at the height of its glory. Old houses are worn down. His paintings of downtown Rutland or Brattleboro are not postcards, nor are they romantically gritty. They are matter of fact. If there is a love affair in these paintings, it is between the artist and the light. However, Brunelle, who worked as a curator for the Rutland Historical Society is keenly aware of Vermont’s grandiose Victorian past. “Underneath the skeleton of our modern Vermont towns and cities, there’s the Victorian world and little bits and pieces of it are still sticking out. If you know where to look, where to dig, so to speak….I’m interested in time and the effect that time has on people and how things are always receding into the past,” he said.
The phrase “Vermont Artist” fits no one better than Robert Waldo Brunelle, Jr. He is a seventh generation Vermonter, with roots dating back to the 1750’s. He counts among his artistic ancestors a great-grandfather, great-grandmother and great-great grandfather, all of whom were painters. Brunelle was born in Rutland, Vermont, in 1958, and, as he puts it, “learned to draw before I learned to write!" Although he drew incessantly as a child, he received no formal art training until attending St. Michael’s College in 1976. There he fell under the influence of former NVAA president, and renowned art professor, Roy Kennedy, well-known painter Lance Richbourg, and the namesake of the Sloane Art Center, Sy Sloane. Brunelle graduated in 1980 with a double degree in History and Fine Arts, and went on to earn a Master’s in Art Education at Castleton State College. Since 1981 he has been the art teacher at the Browns River Middle School in Underhill. Brunelle has been exhibiting his paintings in Vermont since 1975, and has served as the president of the NVAA since 1995. He is also a political cartoonist, whose strip “Mr. Brunelle Explains It All” may be seen in the humor magazine Funny Times.
CLICK HERE…to preview the work online.
About Opportunities Credit Union
Opportunities shows work by local artists at their branch at 92 North Avenue on the corner of North Street and North Avenue, across from Burlington College. Past artists have included Elizabeth Cleary, Gillian Klein, and Karen Geiger. The branch is open Monday through Thursday from 9AM to 5PM and Friday from 9AM to 6PM. Opportunities Credit Union is Vermont’s only regulated financial institution dedicated to serving the emerging markets of low-wealth individuals. Opportunities brings a full range of financial services to all. We turn hope into opportunity while creating wealth and enriching lives and communities.
About Kasini House
Kasini House is a dynamic creative enterprise that seeks to make contemporary art and culture work. Kasini House Gallery presents work by a range of contemporary artists. They produce art events such as First Friday Art Walk in Burlington, Vermont. Kasini House Books publishes titles on contemporary art and culture. We also publishing three periodicals: Art Map Burlington, Vermont Contemporary Art Annual, and Vermont Art Guide, the state’s most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to contemporary art. Kasini House Artshop sells art, art products, and books in our online artshop, at events, and (starting in 2009) at our location in Montreal. Kasini House Printshop operates an on-demand printshop in Montreal that specialize in books, greeting cards, posters, postcards, and other products. Kasini House provides a range of consulting, media, and creative services to a variety of clients.