Art has always been Hanna Bruer’s way of making sense of her emotions, particularly those surrounding her complicated childhood.
Bruer is a participating artist in Carnelian Art Gallery’s current exhibition, “Dreams In the Undergrowth,” which is a show focused on human emotions, the subconscious and the environment. The exhibition started at the beginning of May, and concludes at the end of June. An opening reception for the show is set to take place at 5 p.m. Friday, May 16, where Bruer will conduct a live painting session starting at 6 p.m.
“I am really proud to be in a group of such talented artists, and to be part of such a well-run, fantastic gallery that has a great vision,” she said.
There, Bruer will create a visual diary with acrylic paints, inks and markers. Her diaries take on a grunge aesthetic, and she incorporates illegible text into her them to express her inner-most thoughts without revealing what they are. Bruer said this is her way of not only processing trauma from her childhood, but the symptoms that come with her diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. The mental health condition is characterized mainly by a difficulty of regulating one’s emotions. There are some experts in the field of psychology that believe BPD is actually a severe form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I know this, because I am diagnosed with traits of the disorder. That made this particular interview quite personal to me. Bruer has become a dear friend in that regard.
She invited me into her home in Madison earlier this week to reveal her artistic process from start to finish, and to open up about how she grew up, what and who inspires her art and the message she’s looking to spread with her pieces.
“I like starting with big areas of color,” Bruer said. “Big splotches. Big gestures. And then go smaller and more detailed throughout the piece. I alway have handwriting in all of my work. That’s the last little bit, which is probably the most distinct part of my work. It’s like a journal that I don’t let anybody read and that is by design. It is a nice way to get out some feelings and thoughts that are best expressed in a non-representational way in the safety of a painting.
“I like using high-contrasting colors … a lot of textures. There’s black in everything because it’s my favorite. I will put a piece away once I feel like its done. So I don’t look at it for a while. And then I will bring it back out at some other point … later that week or even that same day to look at it with fresh eyes. That’s to see if I still think its done.”
Originally from Stevens Point, Bruer discovered her love for art in childhood. She revealed to me her experiences growing up in separate households, one where she had one identity and the other, a completely different self. Bruer said that her father lived a lifestyle akin to the Amish; a community of people who largely don’t use electricity. Her nights would be spent at her father’s reading by a lantern. He had other extreme views. On the other hand, “my mom was a raging feminist.”
Art was Bruer’s only way to escape during those years, much like writing was my way of escaping during my complicated childhood.
Bruer went on to study photography and illustration at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where she graduated in 2008. She “hated” painting then, deciding after college to become a portrait photographer. But working at a corporation robbed Bruer of her creativity.
“I lived at an apartment where my landlord knew I worked in inks and charcoals,” Bruer said. “They had a tenant who was giving away a ton of paint, and they left some on my doorstep one day.”
She saw that as a sign to start painting, and Bruer hasn’t looked back since.
The message she wants to send with her paintings? Get the “bullshit” out of your brain, Bruer said.
“I am a big fan of being creative in a productive way where you’re not causing harm.”