Brett Windham [MFA 2010, Sculpture]
Windham’s current work with hand-painted cyanotypes combines early-process photographs, paintings on paper, and objectless sculpture. Each object is collected, pressed flat until dry, printed in the sun, washed and dried, and finally painted, a process that can take months to complete. The dried and flattened specimens allow for sharp detail and translucence that informs the painting. The use of inventive, abstracted color is a way to bring this Victorian-era process into the present day: using modern Japanese, American, and British watercolors in vibrant cadmium, fluorescents, and pastels, the work simultaneously references contemporary painting and the antiquated art of hand-tinted photographs.