April 18, 2020

 

Throughout her artistic career, Brenda Goodman has oscillated between abstraction and figuration. Yet, consistent throughout both is her unwavering emotional honesty; the kind which looks you dead in the eye and dares you to flinch. Goodman’s work radiates a quiet soulfulness which is at times comforting and at others nearly nauseating in its truthfulness. Although born in Detroit and graduating from the College for Creative Studies in 1965, and later working alongside the Cass Corridor artists, Goodman’s own art has a decidedly different feel from the rough around the edges style. Her work tends towards the surreal but reflects deeply Goodman’s own reality: tracking her changes in self-image, habits, relationships, and life in general. In many instances, Goodman’s earnestness permeates her artwork and creates a sense of relatability, as if one’s own unique experiences are somehow seen, felt, and then tucked carefully away within her arsenal of organic shapes. 

Goodman’s Untitled work from 1983 is an example of one of her many forays into abstraction. It appears as a boat type shape, floating softly in the foreground of a smoky sky. Squares of muted colors punch through the dark, with what might very well be small eyes peering through their centers. There is loneliness in the ship’s isolation, but perhaps warmth in the tiny, periwinkle house beyond it. The whimsy of the piece makes it not menacing, but adamantly in pursuit of something greater. 

Written by Samantha Hohmann

 

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