2021 Senior Exhibition Artists

Braden Putney

Art + Design: Painting

About Braden Putney

Braden Putney is a Providence based painter from Seekonk, Massachusetts. He seeks to layer both technique and emotion into his work to resonate with the viewer on a personal level. He is constantly seeking to improve his craft and practice through further exploration into contemporary’s as well as makers of the past. He is graduating with a BFA in painting from Umass Dartmouth this May.

Statement

In my paintings I portray an intimate story, one that I both fear to face and to speak of. The story is tied to the circumscribed nature of time and the burden that it holds on me and my partner. The concept serves as a personal coping method to avoid repressing the feelings that I currently wish to ignore. The figurative paintings describe events I experienced first-hand and develop towards what I perceive as a potential future. These experiences are echoed by the paintings depicting the changing nature of an avocado tree as it adjusts to being repotted.

The two sets of paintings engage in a dialogue two-fold – the state of the represented subject and the formal decisions – and create charged representations in which the image and atmosphere create an emotive space.

I seek to create representations which carry visual and emotive power. My work functions as an entry point for the viewer to reflect on the images and key into their own experiences. It creates a space of vulnerability, where my perspective is shared with the viewer. The painting becomes personified.