Brian Zimmerman Art Exhibit
Monday, August 5 through Friday, Septemeber 27, 2013
Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, NV

A closing reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, September 27 with an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. in the Pueblo Room. The Rotunda will be open for First Friday festivities from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, September 6.

“Greasing the Skids” is a sculpture made of more than fifty stacked wooden chairs built by Brian Zimmerman specifically for the Clark County Government Center Rotunda. The exhibit will be on display August 5 through September 27 at the Clark County Government Center’s Rotunda Gallery, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway near downtown Las Vegas. A closing reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, September 27 with an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. in the Pueblo Room. The Rotunda will be open for First Friday festivities from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, September 6.        

The 16 feet tall pylon-like structure was inspired by the voluminous space of the Government Center Rotunda, and Zimmerman’s interests in the physical and psychological changes we endlessly go through as individuals and as a community. These changes are influenced by many factors; such as, what we eat, the environment we live in and popular notions of what is attractive or repulsive. While sometimes quick and jarring, the transformations most often occur gradually, taking generations to shift from one ideal to another. Using the form of a standard dining room chair as a representation of the human figure, the artist manipulated the chair shape row by row, leading to increasingly gestural legs and bloated seat cushions at the highest levels. The result is a vertical, compacted timeline displaying the development of these generational shifts.  

Brian Zimmerman creates sculptural works for the gallery and public realm that are physically relatable and conceptually approachable with an aim to connect to the viewer through pathos and shared experience. As a sculptor, custom fabricator and university assistant professor, he holds a BFA in Painting and Art History from the Kansas City Art Institute, and a studio MFA focused in sculpture and public art from the University of California, San Diego.  His work has been exhibited in galleries, museums and through public art commissions in Texas, California and Missouri. Born in Houston, TX, he currently lives and works in Las Vegas and will be relocating to St. Louis, Missouri this fall.