Scrying the Present in the Shadow of a Doubt (The beetle of Sulawesi) Print

Steve Brudniak (Born April 9, 1961, Topeka, Kansas) is an American artist known for highly crafted and unusual assemblage sculpture. His art incorporates, often pioneering, unconventional media and scientific elements such as high voltage electricity, Tesla coil technology, magnetic ferrofluid, gyro mechanics, biological preservations, fiber optics, and lasers. Brudniak incorporates disparate found objects in the construction of his art, however the finished pieces do not resemble collage. His assemblages generally give the appearance of being functional machines or ritualistic objects that are indivisibly "of a piece," albeit of indiscernible origin and purpose. Spirituality, psychology, and biology are common themes in his work. In 2008 his Astrogeneris Mementos became the first assemblage sculptures in outer space, taken aboard the International Space Station by entrepreneur and astronaut Richard Garriott. Brudniak spent his elementary and high school years in Houston, Texas. His earliest outlets for artistic expression included writing, acting, music and film projects. In 1981 he opened the Victorian Recording Studio in Houston, recorded and performed in bands, and simultaneously began building his first assemblages. During the 1980s Brudniak was an active member of the Houston Alternative Art scene. In 1988 Brudniak moved to Austin, Texas where he remains committed to his art. He has worked from his Bouldin Creek, Austin, Texas studio for over two decades, producing art that has been exhibited in over 100 gallery and museum exhibitions. Brudniak's work is included in the collections of the San Antonio Museum of Art, the El Paso Museum of Art, The Art Museum of South Texas at Corpus Christi, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The monograph, The Science of Surrealism - Assemblage Sculpture of Steve Brudniak, was published in 2013 documenting thirty years of the artists career in photos, essays and commentary, edited by Anjali Gupta with a foreword by Guillermo Del Toro. Brudniak remains active in a variety of art mediums including performance, music and filmmaking. He has appeared in documentary productions as well as feature films, most notably Richard Linklater's Waking Life. His latest film project, is Eric Frodsham's More Moments The Go. Shot in Austin, Texas in 2009, Brudniak is co-director and co-producer of the film.