Philip Brou, Central Casting

Philip Brou, Faces in the Crowd, oil on linen, 20"x 30", 2012

Philip Brou, Glee, oil on linen, 20"x 30", 2012

Philip Brou

Central Casting
November 12, 2012 - February 1, 2013
Opens November 12, 9:00-12:00

You may not notice them.  In fact, if they do their job well they will go completely undetected.  They are background actors, more commonly known as "Extras."  These actors seamlessly become extensions of the environment.  They exist on the edge of the spotlight, in the space between the stars and the silver screen.  

Philip Brou contacted Central Casting, one of the oldest and most respected casting agencies in the film industry, and hired 5-veteran extras as subjects for a series of paintings.  This exhibition includes two paintings from this series.  Brou views these paintings as portraits of invisibility. 

For the past 7-years Philip Brou has been developing a series of interconnected projects based on research into seemingly disparate, often inane, facts from his own life. His projects have included investigations into his birth hospital, The Bermuda Triangle, the Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber, Steven Spielberg's childhood home, his high school senior class, and Space Probe Voyager 1's intergalactic mission; to name but a few. His interdisciplinary practice includes painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, and video.

Philip Brou received his BFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from The Ohio State University. He currently resides in Portland, Maine, where he is an Assistant Professor in the Painting Department at Maine College of Art.