Jonathan Brilliant has been named the artist in residence at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum (LASM) for two weeks, between March 25 and April 2, 2014. Multiple opportunities to connect with the artist during his residency should not be missed, including a lecture at the LSU College of Art + Design on April 7 at 5:00 p.m. and the opportunity to see the LASM installation in progress.

Brilliant makes ephemeral art that transforms interior space. The artist stacks, arranges, and carefully weaves more than 50,000 individual coffee stir-sticks into monumental, site-specific installations that are held together by sheer tension alone. Brilliant will be working with LSU School of Art students in Associate Professor Loren Schwerd’s intermediate sculpture class to connect, shape, and craft an entirely new, nearly organic form within the Soupcon Gallery at LASM. Stop by to see The Red Stick Piece in progress between March 25 and April 2, 2014. The piece will remain on display at LASM through June 29, 2014.

Brilliant’s artist residency is presented by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge through a creative partnership with the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, the LSU School of Art, and Baton Rouge Community College. The residency and exhibition are made possible thanks to the generous support from Matt and Catherine Saurage, Ritter Maher Architects, and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

EVENTS

March 25–April 2, 2014
Stop by the Louisiana Art & Science Museum Soupcon Gallery between March 25 and April 2 to see The Red Stick Piece in progress.

Thursday, March 27, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Join the Louisiana Art & Science Museum for Art After Hours, an informal tour and artist’s reception. Admission is $5 for university faculty and students with valid identification; $7 for non-members; and free for LASM members.

Wednesday, April 2, 11:30 a.m.
Brilliant will present a lecture, “Sculpture with Everyday Objects,” at the Baton Rouge Community College, 103 Frazier Art Building, as part of Art Fest.

Sunday, April 6, 1–2:30 p.m.
Meet Jonathan Brilliant at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum as part of Fest for All.

Monday, April 7, 5 p.m.
Jonathan Brilliant will present a lecture, “Have Sticks, Will Travel,” at the LSU College of Art + Design, 102 Design Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.

About Jonathan Brilliant
Jonathan Brilliant was born in 1976 in Charleston, South Carolina. Brilliant holds a BA in studio art from the College of Charleston and an MFA in spatial arts from San Jose State University. He is a recipient of an individual artist grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and is a South Carolina Arts Commission Visual Arts Fellow.

Brilliant has exhibited his work in several group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally. He has received numerous fellowships to artist residencies and communities including McColl Center for Visual Art in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan; the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont; Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, South Carolina; Artspace in Raleigh, North Carolina; and the East/West Project in Berlin, Germany. He has served as a visiting artist for the University of Oklahoma in Norman; Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan; University of Memphis, Tennessee; Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina; and Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, among others.

From May 2009 to December 2010, Brilliant conducted Have Sticks Will Travel: World Tour, a marathon series of site-specific installations that took place in 13 galleries in 18 months, across three countries and two continents. Have Sticks, Will Travel included a stop at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Washington. In 2011, Brilliant was the artist in residence at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Virginia, where he created a comprehensive multi-room installation utilizing coffee shop ephemera. In 2012, he served as an artist in residence at the Cairns Festival in Far North Queensland, Australia, and at the Center for Creativity and the Arts at California State University in Fresno. Brilliant currently lives with his wife, Brooke, son, Asher, and two cats, Zero and Chicken, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Visit jonathanbrilliant.com for more information or view photographs of Brilliant’s installations on Flickr.

About the Louisiana Art & Science Museum
Housed in a historic railroad depot on the banks of the Mississippi River, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum (LASM) offers educational entertainment for visitors of all ages. The art galleries showcase changing fine art exhibitions and selections from the permanent collection. In the interactive art and science galleries designed just for children, creative and enlightening fun comes in many forms. Visit lasm.org for more information.

About LSU School of Art
The LSU School of Art combines the best of both worlds: the resources and faculty of a large liberal arts institution and the personal attention that comes in a close-knit community. Students in the School of Art develop specialized skills while experimenting with various mediums, exploring their own creative intuition, and studying art history and contemporary art theory. Education comes from intensive critiques, working studio classes, dedicated professors, and engagement with the larger arts community through a curriculum that combines academic teaching and hands-on experiences, both on and off campus. For more information, visit art.lsu.edu.

Contact
Angela Harwood
Communications Coordinator
LSU College of Art + Design
102 Design Building
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
225-578-9041
aharwood@lsu.edu