Exhibition

Brach Tiller
GYMNASIA
Mar. 2, 2024 - Apr. 10, 2024

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Louis Buhl & Co. is pleased to present GYMNASIA with Detroit-based painter Brach Tiller, opening March 2nd, 2024. The exhibition is Tiller’s first solo show with the gallery, and will present five new paintings. 

Working in oil and acrylic, Tiller’s paintings are perfectly rendered in a manner that blends the real and the fictitious, taking direct inspiration from the ubiquitous objects he encounters daily. His latest body of work looks to the modern day gym as groundwork for his otherworldly scenes, paying tribute to the rekindled love for exercise he has adapted in his adult life. Playing hockey was a central part of Tiller’s upbringing, however once his career ended, his priority for exercise was subsequently shelved. Tiller's introduction to a community of friends and fitness-minded artists during his tenure as a painting student at Cranbrook Academy of Art marked the beginning of reintegrating regular workouts into his routine, as their mutual encouragement to break from the studio for exercise revitalized this self-care practice.

Each painting expresses a familiar moment that exists in the space of Tiller’s gym going ritual. A feeling of frustration is channeled in The Unreturned, which depicts dumbbells scattered throughout the scene as if dropped and abandoned by an unknown source, mirroring the disorder that can manifest amongst publicly handled equipment. In contrast, Reflektor, a painting of the trash can stationed outside of Tiller’s locker room sauna, invokes a calm sentiment. The mundane object is contextually abstracted and repeated throughout the frame to symbolize the sauna’s function as a space for reflection and revelation. 

Upon determining his subject, Tiller develops his compositions in a digital software, manipulating and rendering uncanny forms and physics to generate a new discourse that confuses the original understanding of these objects. The scenes are then translated into paint using artificially-driven color palettes that heighten an unearthliness in his work. Transforming the artist’s lived experiences into precise, two-dimensional renderings, Tiller’s process presents an odd and unrealized world that mimics reality in theatrical displays on canvas. 

Brach Tiller: GYMNASIA is on view from March 2 through April 10, 2024 at Louis Buhl & Co.

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