Karl Brake
Hailing originally from the rural mountain northwest, Karl has lived, worked, and studied in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Brazil, worked as a visual artist and theatrical designer in Pittsburgh for 16 years, and is happy to have recently relocated to the Rogue Valley in 2007. His work has been exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally, including over 20 solo exhibitions, and encompasses painting, printmaking, installation, and scenic design. Most recently, his work was on view in his solo show, “High Spirits,” at RCC’s FireHouse Gallery, he is preparing an installation work in collaboration with Mike Youngman, “High Plains Hamlet,” to be exhibited at the Herrett Museum in Twin Falls, Idaho in May of 2008. Concerned thematically with the intersection of universal and personal passion and perception, his art revels in expressive color and dynamic composition, and his subject matter includes the human figure, landscape, abstraction, and mythology. He has published articles and reviews on art and theatre in journals such as In Pittsburgh Newsweekly and Theatre Design and Technology, and his work is in a number of public collections, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, as well as private collectors such as critic Harry Schwalb, Francois Bitz, and Leonard Plotinicov. He has taught at Eastern Wyoming College, Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Wyoming, and is currently a full-time Art Instructor and Art Department Head at Rogue Community College.