Today we’d like to introduce you to Niel Brandon.
Hi Niel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I remember being extremely interested in art-making from as little as 5 years old. My mother is my biggest inspiration for painting, and she has encouraged me throughout my life to keep pursuing the arts. I graduated from The California Institute of the Arts in 2022 and have been sharing my art with the world for the past 7 years. I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and have always been inspired by my deep roots there as a Black American. My art has always been a product of my experiences as a young person in Mississippi and the experiences of my predecessors’ labors and efforts in the United States. I am continuously inspired by the stories from my family members and the settings/scenes that surround us, including nature. I desire to continue to create an archive that honors those experiences. As a visual artist now living in DFW, I am working to continue creating and building inspiring and involving narratives that strike conversation, call for action, and bring communities together.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a visual artist, I’ve often struggled with disappointing periods of creating, where I feel as though what I’m making might not matter. I’ve learned that that is far from the truth. Even in the midst of frustration, confusion, and uncertainty with creating, the most beautiful stories can come from those moments. I’ve learned firsthand from starting from scratch with projects and not fully knowing what the outcome would be. Learning about myself as an artist over the past years has been a long and shaky process, but an amazing one nonetheless.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My current focus as an artist has been painting and found object sculpture. I love the history behind old or lost items and the desire to know what the stories are behind those items. I often collect items of labor, such as old tools, nails, chains, etc., and reconstruct them to give them new life and meaning. My paintings are an extension of those sculptures, where I’m creating communities, whether landscapes and/or people in places of serenity and nature. I find that the often heaviness of the sculptures juxtapose a past in which the paintings often look to a future of solidarity with God’s creation, including humans and the land we look after. These works bring me joy in fulfilling my yearning for collecting and appreciating the past without disregarding the work that needs to be done for a better future.
My inspiration often comes from my family lineage of scholars, preachers, farmers, artists, etc., the books that I have read, and the artists that I admire. Artists such as Betye Saar, Noah Purifoy, and David Hammons have inspired me to see objects differently and to create without bounds. I am able to create these sculptures and paintings because of their historical impact.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as an artist is that “comparison is the thief of joy.” As I’ve gotten older, I have realized that we all have something to offer in this world and if we continue to solely focus on what others are doing, we will never be able to birth what we were destined to make or do. There is a place for all characteristics and gifts here, therefore we should take the time to discover those things to share with the world, even if it seems “out of the ordinary” or “strange”. That is one lesson that I have looked to often as an artist and continue to look to now as I am forever learning and growing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nieljbrandon.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/nielb.studio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GrxiNgqTm/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@niel.j.brandon
