Patricia Brace's solo exhibition, "In Search of the Miraculous," marks a significant milestone in the artist’s career, blending performance art with welding techniques to craft "Pepper's Ghost" sculptures. This integration of 19th-century theater illusion adds a spectral dimension to Brace's video narratives, exploring themes of place and crisis while asking at each turn: where is the miracle in being (simply) human?
Throughout her decade-long journey as an artist, Brace has portrayed a diverse array of personas, from a Supreme Court justice to a presidential candidate and ballerina. However, in "In Search of the Miraculous: 82 Parris Street," Brace delves closer to home, reflecting on personal experiences such as the recent loss of her stepmother, her involvement in local conservation efforts, and even her "bad" dance videos. These memoir-style pieces, both tragic and humorous, underscore Brace's prowess as a sculptor and performance artist.
Central to Brace's artistic practice is the fusion of her parents' teachings - woodworking, social work, and blacksmithing. With her background in dance-based performance art, she perceives this visual art medium as the most sustainable, intertwining her conservation work with a deep concern for both people and their environments.
Continuing the seminal work of the same title by Dutch performance artist Bas Jan Ader, Brace shifts the focus from the individual’s plight of solitude to the individual’s containment of interconnectedness—between places, peoples and memories. And, like Ader’s questions of the romantic and sublime, Brace’s art seeks to echo the intricate, complex tapestries of personal experience in search of the miraculous.
Photo Credit: Joel Tsui @artarchival
Pepper's Ghost 1: The Perfect Human, 2024, 76"h x 20"w x 30"l, steel, acrylic, tv, 1:04m
Photo credit: Joel Tsui @ArtArchival
This series of Pepper's Ghost sculptures addresses how external perceptions of a situation can be different from the truth of one's reality. The dance video is appropriated from Jorgen Leth’s experimental film “The Perfect Human,” about a seemingly happy couple and their superficial accomplishments. In the end, the couple separates and the last frame is the character, who Brace performs in the video, dining alone. In this video Brace plays with gender roles through the audio saying, “There he is, the perfect human, look at him, look at what he can do…” By performing the male role in the video Brace subverts gender stereotypes and performs the satirical “Perfect Human.”
Maquette 1: Pepper’s Ghost: The Perfect Human
9” h, 6” l, 3.5” w
2024
Cell phone, welded steel, acrylic, cell phone charger
1:04m looped
Photo credit: Joel Tsui @artarchival
In Search of the Miraculous
Patricia Brace's solo exhibition, "In Search of the Miraculous," marks a significant milestone in the artist’s career, blending performance art with welding techniques to craft "Pepper's Ghost" sculptures. This integration of 19th-century theater illusion adds a spectral dimension to Brace's video narratives, exploring themes of place and crisis while asking at each turn: where is the miracle in being (simply) human?
Throughout her decade-long journey as an artist, Brace has portrayed a diverse array of personas, from a Supreme Court justice to a presidential candidate and ballerina. However, in "In Search of the Miraculous: 82 Parris Street," Brace delves closer to home, reflecting on personal experiences such as the recent loss of her stepmother, her involvement in local conservation efforts, and even her "bad" dance videos. These memoir-style pieces, both tragic and humorous, underscore Brace's prowess as a sculptor and performance artist.
Central to Brace's artistic practice is the fusion of her parents' teachings - woodworking, social work, and blacksmithing. With her background in dance-based performance art, she perceives this visual art medium as the most sustainable, intertwining her conservation work with a deep concern for both people and their environments.
Continuing the seminal work of the same title by Dutch performance artist Bas Jan Ader, Brace shifts the focus from the individual’s plight of solitude to the individual’s containment of interconnectedness—between places, peoples and memories. And, like Ader’s questions of the romantic and sublime, Brace’s art seeks to echo the intricate, complex tapestries of personal experience in search of the miraculous.