Charlie Brouwer

PICNIC
Wolmanized wood sculpture
6' x 7' x 7'

Charlie Brouwer was born in Holland, Michigan and received his BA in English at
Grand Valley State University and his MFA from Western Michigan University. He
has taught art in Australia, at Western Michigan University, and is currently
Professor of Art at Radford University in Virginia. His constructed wood sculptures
range from small tabletop and wall sculptures to large outdoor pieces, often
symbolic and surreal, typically accompanied by some form of narration within the
piece. Mr. Brouwer has done extensive commission work worldwide, most notably
for the International Wood Sculpture Park in Nagyatad, Hungary, and has won
several national and international sculpture prizes. His current projects include the
renovation of a historic Virginia farmhouse which is now his family home.

"I am interested in transcendence. I believe there is the potential for meaning in all
that we are able to do, perceive, and imagine. Content comes from form - to exist is
to have meaning. Content comes from symbols - things we recognize can have
both personal and universal meaning. A work of art is a metaphor. The meaning
includes and is beyond the materials used, the forms created, or the subject. I
hope those who encounter my work are reminded that works of art are one way
we can transcend our experience. Through interpreting them we can be led to
question, imagine, and have faith. For me the process of making art is to be alive,
to examine life, and to ask questions about my existence. I work in wood because I
have come to know and respect it, and because it speaks to and for me."

Charlie Brouwer