Brian M Brooks

“Who the **** are you?”, once asked John Lennon*. The answer was Brian Brooks, creator of mesmeric art and a talent musician and more. He is also a man whose stories illuminate and entrance, just like his art. He was Britain’s man in New York in the 70s. He knew Deborah Harry, he was dorm mates with Rupert Smith, he worked with Andy Warhol and much, much more. As an artist, his work is second to none. He has a range which few can match, exquisite skill, and a penetrating vision. Brian M. Brooks’ work remains relatively unknown, but it is one which will almost certainly reward the collector. My work navigates the boundary between realism, abstraction and colour theory, drawing on Josef Albers’ exploration of colour interactions. I create realistic, semi-abstract, and fully abstract pieces—each informing the other in a layered conversation. Through this interplay, I investigate how colour shapes form, depth and perception, while also exploring the concept of fragmentation within my semi-abstract work. His subject matter spans the genres of portraiture, landscape, seascape and still life, each offering a unique space to explore the dynamics of colour and form. In his abstract compositions, he examines how colours interact and influence each other, reflecting Albers’ belief in colour as an active, relational force. At times by placing colours side by side in unexpected ways, he create tensions and harmonies that shift with the viewer’s perspective. This study of colour as a dynamic medium not only underpins my abstract work but also influences my approach to realism, where colour plays a central role in evoking mood, space, and emotion. The semi-abstract pieces bridge these worlds, incorporating elements of both realism and abstraction through the concept of fragmentation. Here, form is deconstructed and reassembled, suggesting figures, landscapes or still life compositions that emerge and dissolve into fields of colour. Fragmentation allows hin to capture the transient and multifaceted nature of perception—how we often perceive things not as solid wholes but as fragments that the mind pieces together. This approach invites the viewer to actively participate in constructing meaning, while interpreting the whole through its parts. Through his work, he aims to engage viewers in a dynamic experience where colour, form and fragmentation create a shifting sense of reality. By blending abstract colour studies with realistic representation and fragmented forms across various subjects, He encourages a deeper, layered exploration of how colour and perception inform our understanding of the world. *Lennon’s erudite statement was in response to discovering Brian in a recording studio he had booked…yet a little while late he and Brian were jamming and talking music. A talent for bonhomie is also one Brian possesses.