Andrea Brewster: FROZEN MOMENT
October 23 - November 28, 2020
Andrea Brewster’s work is often comprised of otherworldly, organic, abstractions, which reference biological life and natural processes. She is particularly intrigued by the mathematical order underlying growth patterns and often utilizes similar algorithmic systems of repetition.
For her upcoming show at Mercury 20 Gallery, Brewster has developed a new body of sculptural work entitled Frozen Moment. These pieces created out of wet formed vellum paper, explore the delicate, yet energetic, dynamic processes of the natural world and the chaotically creased geography of crumpled paper.
Brewster observes that in nature nothing stands still. These pieces with their twisting, rippling forms, honor this vigorous action by reminding the viewer of waves, clouds and smoke, ceaselessly flowing and dissolving. Crumpling, on the other hand, is an exercise in controlled disorder, resulting in an object of extraordinary mathematical and structural complexity.
For these works, Brewster was also inspired by the suspended motion that she observed in the drapery of classical and baroque sculpture. In this way her interest in textiles and natural processes have come full circle. As she states; “If life is in unceasing movement, then perhaps art pauses and captures a single frame of that perpetual film. Life is stilled, frozen for a moment, thereby implying the possibility of a context, which is stable and unchangeable; where time and limitation have no meaning.”
Available Work
Andrea Brewster
Andrea Brewster is a multidisciplinary artist who investigates the intersection of nature, fiber art, and technology through intricate forms and layered textures. Brewster earned a B.A. in Sculpture from Pomona College and an M.F.A. in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. A 1993 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant recipient, she has exhibited widely in the San Francisco Bay Area, with solo shows at Mercury 20, The Lab, and Southern Exposure, as well as group exhibitions at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, The Oakland Museum, and the Peninsula Museum. Her work has been featured in fiber art exhibitions in Ireland and the U.S. She participated in the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, and presented at the Doily Free Zone Contemporary Lace Symposium. In 2025, her AI work appeared at Load Gallery, Barcelona, and in the book “Neo Botanica.” She has been a member of Mercury 20 Gallery since 2020.