Society of Animal Artists

SPECIAL EDITION EXHIBITION OF THE ART OF 

CAREL PIETER BREST van KEMPEN

 

A Special Edition Exhibition of The Art of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen will be displayed as the featured attraction at The Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska from June 1 until September 30, 2014 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's signing of the Wilderness Act on September 3, 1963.  The exhibition is produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C., David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Curator/Tour Director.

Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, Chadron State College,1000 Main Street,Chadron, NE

Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen is a painter of Dutch descent, who explores the rich diversity of the natural world from exceptionally unique perspectives.  The artist’s self-stated goal is to say as much as he can about how organisms live and interact with other organisms and their environments.  Brest van Kempen, who is also interested in prehistoric subject matter, paints from first-hand experience and knowledge.  He has traveled across Africa and Central and South America, and studied both threatened and extinct species and their ecosystems in detail.

            Since he was a child, Brest van Kempen has always been a student of nature.  He spent his youth exploring untracked back country along the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains; drawing, studying, and collecting native flora and fauna.  As a boy, Brest van Kempen practiced falconry and bred lizards.  He began drawing wildlife when he was only three years old and created his first painting at the age of twelve.  At the University of Utah, his studies focused on biology, which he hoped to teach, and field work.  By 1988, his interests in art and nature matured to the point where he could pursue a full-time career of painting.  Though Brest van Kempen is among the most highly accomplished technicians in the entire art world, and among the most creative, he is essentially self-taught.  Brest van Kempen paints in a highly realistic manner.  Unique in the world of wildlife art, Brest van Kempen’s approach is reminiscent of the art of Salvador Dali, which has always fascinated him. There is no other wildlife artist who paints like Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen; his approach and style is truly unique.

                              ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS (Acrylic/Illustration Board, 20x26)



Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen has exhibited his works throughout the world and earned numerous awards.  He is a member of the prestigious Society of Animal Artists which has awarded him awards on multiple occasions, including their highest honor, the Award of Excellence, in 1994, 1996, 1997, 2004, and 2010.

      STRANGE FRUIT-- IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (Acrylic/Illustration Board, 37x27)

Public collections containing his works include the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Springville Art Museum, the Woodson Art Museum, The World Center for Birds of Prey, and Vermont’s Bennington Center for the Arts.

            REANIMATION— COMMON POORWILL (Acrylic/Illustration Board, 36x26)



            A book entitled, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding—The Art of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen, which was written by the artist, and includes a Foreword by Belgian painter, Carl Brenders, and an Introduction by Curator, Dr. David J. Wagner, was published by Eagle Mountain Publishing and is available at Eagle Mountain Publishing at (801) 789-4149 or empub@msn.com.

     BIODIVERSITY IN THE ART OF CAREL PIETER BREST van KEMPEN

was previously displayed at The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ; The Wildlife Experience (museum) in Denver, CO; The Wildling Art Museum near Santa Barbara, CA; and The Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in the great New York City area, and The Kenosha Public Museum near Chicago.

THREE MORE WORLDS—RAINBOW TROUT & OSPREY (Acrylic/Illustration Board, 35x26)

David J. Wagner, L.L.C.
Member/President
by David J. Wagner, Ph.D.
Curator/Tour Director
http://www.davidjwagnerllc.com/
Office Phone: (414) 221-6878
Cell: (414) 712-0863
Skype: davidjwagnerllc
For e-mails with large attachments, e-mail: davidjwagnerllc@aol.com
Recipient of the 2010 SKBF Black-Parkman Award for Art Industry Leadership