space, place & location

Brent constantly says that his art looks like the place he lives. At first I thought this was just a broad understatement fasioned to ward off getting into long arty conversations about inspiration and whatnot but after being surrounded by the same environment for a few years I can now strongly say that Brent's art is exactly where he lives.  While sitting in my friends outhouse, one similar to the one Brent spent his early childhood years running out to in the yard, I realized that the small wooden moon cut into the door has a striking resemblance to the Brent Green moon I have grown to love! This has happened a few other times before too- the curved tops of pine trees identical to the hellish tree limbs in his drawings, the coal mining row houses slathered in Brent Green signature reds & greens- all of these instances of him internalizing simple realities around him and turning them outward into his own intense vision of the world.  Whenever anyone points out a supposed influence it is usually just coincidence unless it happens to look be inspired by the landscape or objects of Appalachia that Brent has spent his entire life submerged in.