Jim Brossy: Left Behind

Through Nov. 28, free, Projects Gallery, 629 N. Second St., 267-303-9652, projectsgallery.com.

by Lauren Seibert

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Published: Nov 18, 2009

visual art

It's the grit and grunge of city life that intrigue Jim Brossy. A construction worker, painter and keen observer of the news and social issues, Brossy draws from all three pools to create his messy yet highly detailed mixed-media paintings and assemblages. Incorporating construction materials such as concrete, tar, steel, latex and other found objects into his work, Brossy explores the realities of urban life for those on the lower end of the social scale. Into these scenes he places text, often cheeky or sardonic lines urging us to think twice about what we're seeing. In one scene of a homeless man digging through trash, the shopping cart nearby is a raised construction filled with real aluminum cans — and across the man's back, Brossy printed the word "Untouchable." In another, a child carries a raised umbrella — another found object — that bears the words "Free Rain" (pictured, detail). From this cheeky grittiness springs Brossy's notion of "crackpot realism," which he feels allows objects to be experienced as pictures, merging physical materials with mental associations. "I ask a lot of questions, because I don't really have the answers," he says.

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