Brecken Sue Bird

ARTIST STATEMENT

Brecken Bird creates self-portraits as a way of exploring identity, self-expression, and perception. She makes sets and costumes and dresses in character, performing the lead role in a dramatic tragedy. Her characters are alter-egos that she uses as vehicles to explore different elements of self through an allegorical lens. They include: A mermaid who dreams of flying, a sick vampire in search of wellness, a wise witch who heals and helps her coven, and a mischievous fairy that can reflect the desires of others. While playing these roles she can express her hopes and fears about achieving lifelong dreams, struggling with mental and physical health, perfectionism, and personal relationships. She documents these performances through photographic images that she reproduces using the cyanotype printing process. She also uses her photos as references for pastel and charcoal drawings, where her goal is to balance reality with fantasy, and show the viewer a mythological story with a grain of truth.

EDUCATION
2016	BFA in Drawing and Painting and a Minor in Art History from Utah State University, Logan UT

REPRESENTATION
	BOSCO: Boise Open Studios Collective Organization, Boise ID, 2020 – Present
	Visual Index, Winston-Salem NC, 2018 – Present
	Art Source Gallery, Boise ID, 2018 – 2021
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025	Nautical Horizons, Poetic Tiger Gallery, Boise ID, February 1^st – 25^th
2025	Art of Lore, Poetic Tiger Gallery, Boise ID, January 4^th – 25^th
2024	Opulent Gaze, Poetic Tiger Gallery, Boise ID, December 7^th - 30^th
2024	Sanctuary of Expressions, Poetic Tiger Gallery, Boise ID, September 7^th – 28^th
2024	Prism of Perspectives, Poetic Tiger Gallery, Boise ID, September 7^th – 28^th
2024	Artist Invitational, Capitol Contemporary Gallery, Boise ID, July 1^st – 30^th
2024	Idaho Art Gallery, Meridian ID, June 1^st – July 31^st
2024	The Spring Show, The Common Well, Garden City ID, March 15^th – 29^th
2024	Dance Studies: a collaboration between BOSCO and Ballet Idaho, Initial Point Gallery, Meridian ID, February 6^th – March 29^th
2023	Capital Contemporary Gallery Ornament Auction, Boise ID, December 7^th
2023	Storytellers, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach CA, October 5^th – 27^th
2023	BOSCO Small Works Show, Surel’s Place, Garden City ID, June 15^th – July 5^th
2023	GRAPHITE, Arch Enemy Arts Gallery, Philadelphia PA, June 2^nd – July 2^nd
2022	Capital Contemporary Gallery Ornament Auction, Boise ID, December 1^st
2022	BOSCO Initial Point Gallery Exhibition, Meridian ID, December 2^nd – February 6^th
2022	All Shapes and Sizes, JKR Gallery, Provo UT, March 4^th – 18^th
2021	BOSCO Small Works Show, Surel’s Place, Garden City ID, November 12^th – December 18^th
2021	Business Card Show, JKR Gallery, Provo UT, July 30^th – August 27^th
2021	All Shapes and Sizes, JKR Gallery, Provo UT, March 5^th – 26^th
2020	Small Wonders 9, Arch Enemy Arts Gallery, Philadelphia PA, November 9^th – 24^th
2020	Postcards From the Pandemic, Arch Enemy Arts Gallery, Philadelphia PA, July 10^th
2020	Mythos, Arch Enemy Arts Gallery, Philadelphia PA, June 12^th
2019	Capital Contemporary Gallery Ornament Auction, Boise ID, December 1^st – 31^st
2018	Sugar-Coated, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City Utah, March 2^nd – April 13^th
2016	Oh! You Pretty Things: BFA show, Ready-made gallery Chase Fine Arts Center, Utah State University, March 14^th – 18^th

PUBLICATIONS
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/arts-culture/2024-07-19/idaho-art-gallery-show-exhibition-meridian
https://www.kivitv.com/south-meridian/meridians-initial-point-gallery-presents-dance-studies-art-exhibit-at-city-hall?fbclid=IwAR3016-2nMSeH9f0QGX-XKLEWnlZuVvBpTEd_DVsXaAtOpZe80hEpQYYjXM
https://www.usu.edu/today/story/fine-arts-students-invoke-david-bowie-in-new-exhibit
http://artistsofutah.org/15Bytes/index.php/oh-my-heck-euphemism-is-sugar-coated-at-finch-lane