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Furman’s Michael Brodeur opens 2019-20 exhibitions in Thompson Gallery


Last updated August 24, 2019

By Tina Underwood

Furman University Associate Professor of Art Michael Brodeur opens the university’s 2019-2020 exhibitions with a show of paintings and other works Monday, Aug. 26, through Thursday, Sept. 26, in Thompson Gallery, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

brodeur

“The Brides’ Waltz” by Michael Brodeur is part of “Development,” the Thompson Gallery showing of “The Veneer of the Familiar.”

A reception with the artist is set for Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. in Thompson Gallery of the Roe Art Building.

Brodeur’s show, “The Veneer of the Familiar,” as well as the reception, are free and open to the public.

“The Veneer of the Familiar” is a two-part exhibition at two sites – Furman’s Thompson Gallery and Lipscomb Gallery at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. The exhibition marks Brodeur’s last year of teaching at Furman and the 20th anniversary of the Governor’s School, where Brodeur founded the Visual Arts Department and served as first chair.

The exhibition is an overview of 50 years of artistic endeavor. Thompson Gallery holds “Development,” works from Brodeur’s undergraduate years through 2003. The paintings and drawings comprise a variety of media and show Brodeur’s evolution as an artist. Many of the works come from Brodeur’s personal holdings and have never before been exhibited.

Brodeur joined the Furman faculty in 2003. Specializing in studio art (foundations, painting and drawing) Brodeur earned his bachelor’s in art at the University of New Hampshire. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Boston University where he studied with Philip Guston and James Weeks.

Brodeur has exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group shows including “Contemporary Conversations, Works curated from the South Carolina Art Collection,” 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia, South Carolina; “From America,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Minsk Belarus; “Mostra,” Cortona Italy; and the “2nd International Painting Exhibition Competition,” Lessedra Gallery in Sofia Bulgaria, among many others.

Brodeur’s work is held in private and public collections. Among the public institutions holding his work are The Emrys Foundation (Greenville), Columbia College (Columbia), LaMar Dodd Art Center at LaGrange College (LaGrange, Georgia), the South Carolina Arts Commission, the South Carolina State Museum and the Greenville County Museum of Art.

His work has appeared twice in “New American Paintings,” editions #58 and #100.

After teaching nearly 40 years, mostly in higher education, Brodeur will retire at the end of this academic year. Learn more about his work at http://michaelbrodeur.blogspot.com/.

The complete calendar of Thompson Gallery exhibitions follows:

Furman University Thompson Gallery
Exhibitions 2019-2020

“The Veneer of the Familiar”
“Development”
Michael Brodeur
Aug. 26-Sept. 26
Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6-7:30 p.m.

“Passages”
Bob Chance and current/former students:
Christine Hess Dickson, Brent Roberts, Jim Weber,  Jackson Shaner
Oct. 1-Oct. 25
Reception: Friday, Oct. 18, 6-8:00 p.m.

“Mater Dolorosa: Clothed in a Mantle of Virginity”
April Dauscha
Nov. 1-Dec. 10
Reception: Friday, Nov. 1, 6-7:30 p.m.

“Cultivate Our Garden”
Collection of Artists
Jan. 21-Feb. 21
Reception: TBA

“Bareback”
Lauren Boilini
Feb. 26-March 27
Reception: Friday, March 27,  6-7:30 p.m.

Senior Art Show
Artists from the Furman Class of 2020
April 7-May 9
Reception: Tuesday, April 7, 6-8 p.m.

All exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Marta Lanier in the Department of Art at 864-294-2995. Or contact the Furman News and Media Strategy office at 864-294-3107.

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