“I find inspiration in the nuances and subtleties of how living things present themselves, and my drawings are a constant thread of creative effort allowing me to refine my vision and worldview with each iteration. I think of my drawings as “diagrams” for the way living things become, grow, mature, die, and “become” again. The hidden algorithms of life’s patterns are revealed in a twig, or the solar-optimized silhouette of a leaf. Pulled from the underground, roots suggest a connection to the Earth, rhizomes suggest a connection among common entities. My work expresses the awesome presence of life on earth, especially in the minute and often overlooked existences among us. These are diagrams for finding my place among the living, connected with and part of the natural world. They are maps for working in a mindset of meditative presence, stopping time.”
Brian Borrello is a visual artist, designer, educator and public artist based in Portland, Oregon. Raised in New Orleans, Borello is well known for his environmental works and public art projects. His two dimensional works are rendered in India ink, charcoal and motor oil on marble impregnated linen. His experience with a broad array of sculptural and graphic techniques, and a versatile range of conceptual approaches is evident in his paintings, sculptures and public art pieces. As a visual artist, Brian is particularly interested in creating awareness of human life in balance with other life forms and with our shared environment. In his art for the public realm, he seizes opportunities to make 'places' by activating urban spaces through image, form and symbol, in response to history, community and context. In all of his work, growth patterns, principles of biological organization and natural phenomena are magnified and expressed through the lyrical movement of a root, the curve and projection of a thorn or the sinuous tangle of mycelia.
