(Milwaukee, WI) The Haggerty Museum of Art will present the exhibition Fifty Years of Painting by Guido Brink from January 10 through March 10, 2002.  The exhibition opens on Thursday, January 10 with a talk by the artist at 6 p.m., followed by a reception from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Haggerty Museum.

"Guido Brink is one of Milwaukee's most important contributors to the visual arts landscape over the past half century. The Haggerty Museum welcomes this opportunity to present his paintings for Milwaukeeans to enjoy," said Dr. Curtis Carter, director of the Haggerty.

German-American painter and sculptor Guido Brink (b. 1913) grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany between World Wars I and II. During this era of turmoil and suffering, the existing world order was in a process of constant flux. Drastic changes in the political, economic, and artistic spheres profoundly impacted the people and cultures of the world. The art world reflected the larger cultural upheaval in its own pivotal changes: the growth of Dada, German Expressionism, Neue Sachlichkeit, and Surrealism. Guido Brink transformed his experiences as a young art student and a soldier in the German army into artwork that speaks of his search for an inner spirituality, hope, and understanding of suffering in the midst of despair.

Brink's earliest American work in painting secular and ecclesiastical stained glass provided a foundation of technique, use of color, and subject matter that may be seen in the style and subject of his later paintings. Paintings such as The Crown of Thorns (1958) and Apocalyptic Symbols (1955-56) utilize rhythmic layers of color punctuated with heavy strokes of black to create expressive abstractions. Brink's use of color is often both expressive and symbolic. His paintings often incorporate symbols derived from the Bible, a central source of inspiration. Though his work sometimes expresses anguish, he generally avoids political themes, focusing instead on universal human concerns. Brink feels that a work of art should rely on its own internal elements to communicate with the audience, not on an external context.  The resulting paintings are both vibrant and haunting.

Guido Brink studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts, Düsseldorf, from 1934 to 1939 under the Neo-Impressionist painter Maximillian Clarenbach. Artist Paul Klee and early Abstract Expressionism further influenced Brink's style. In 1952, Brink moved from his native Germany to New York, and eventually settled in Milwaukee, where he continued his work and taught at the Layton School of the Arts.

In 1974, Brink helped found and became the first president of the Milwaukee School of the Arts, later renamed the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. His paintings and sculptures are included in collections and exhibitions around the world. He and his work have also been featured on Milwaukee's PBS station WMVS-Channel 10.