Work by Brenna Kihlman featured in her exhibit Bold Strokes.
“Brenna Ji Won Kihlman was born in Seoul, Korea in 1975 and adopted by Shan and Dale Kihlman and brother, Nick. She graduated from Boyle County High School and Eastern Kentucky University. Her legacy to those of us who knew her, and those who knew of her, is her artwork. She died from cancer in 2002 after a 10 year battle. Brenna is the joy, inspiration, laughter, and courage inside us all.”
The words above were from the artist’s statement provided by Brenna’s adopted parents, Shan and Dale Kihlman.
The Community Arts Center is proud to exhibit Brenna Kihlman’s work in an exhibit titled Bold Strokes. Brenna’s exhibit is a celebration of what she accomplished in the arts during her short lifetime. In selecting works for the exhibit, her parents and I decided to show mainly abstract pieces, as they were the largest of the works that she had available, but we could have just as easily had an exhibit of self-portraits, drawings, or fashion designs. When looking through a book that showed more of Brenna’s work, I was astounded at how many pieces there were. There were an almost unlimited number of fashion designs – very bold patterns on sassy models, posed as if the wind were blowing in their favor. I could only imagine the amount of energy that it took to create so many different designs, some of them being realized to the point of having fabric samples glued to the page to show the intended prints.
In Bold Strokes, the most interesting aspect of the exhibit is trying to decipher the abstractions in the drawings. Some parts look representational while others seem to be only forms meant to complete the composition. In one drawing alone, a single section of the composition has been interpreted by viewers as a door, a computer mouse, and shoes. Others forms seem to take shape as wine goblets or barbells, egg-shaped ends balanced on top and bottom of a cylindrical center. Some of the shapes and forms remind me a bit of some of Marcel Duchamp’s later work, particularly in his “Large Glass” piece.
www.abcgallery.com/D/duchamp/duchamp29.html
If you follow the link above to Duchamp’s piece, you’ll see that there is a bit of interest in fashion as what appears to be articles of clothing are on a rack, like what one would find in a shop. There have been many essays written regarding the meaning of Duchamp’s ambiguous forms and Duchamp has gone through quite an effort himself of attempting to explain himself on this largely conceptual work. Whether or not Brenna was influenced by Duchamp is questionable, but you cannot deny Picasso’s influence on her work. The smallest piece in the exhibit is a cubist drawing of a head, shown both in profile and straight ahead in the brown, earthy hues associated with Picasso’s earliest collages and assemblages.
Another exciting part of the Bold Strokes exhibit is Brenna’s use of color. While some pieces are more reserved in palette, being drawn in mostly browns and darker tones, others have a more vibrant feel with very feminine pinks, violets, and blues. One piece appears to be a purple tree which has taken on some female aspects, with shapely curves coming out its trunk – branches like arms, spread across the sky. In the lower left foreground, a form much like a butterfly wing approaches the viewer.
While putting this exhibit together and during the opening reception, I could only wish that Brenna were here to see the exhibit and to personally get the recognition that she deserves for this great display. Her opening was very well attended by friends and family who gathered around and reflected on her life and her art. I would like to thank Dale and Shan Kihlman for helping to put the exhibit together and for coming to the Community Arts Center to speak to visiting students on Brenna’s behalf. Brenna’s exhibit will be up until the end of September and portions of the proceeds from the sales will go to Heritage Hospice.
