Kelsey Brookes
One Pointed Attention, 2014
7835 Ivanhoe Avenue
Kelsey Brookes' mural, One Pointed Attention, engages the viewer in a mesmerizing vision scape. His distinctive use of color and line creates a portal into an intriguing and transcendent visual experience. The undulating patterns evoke a sense of calm contemplation while also creating a more cerebral and psychological effect. His work often embodies a metaphysical and otherworldly state. The scale of One Pointed Attention allows the viewer to feel absorbed into the pulsating aura Brookes has created. Brookes' mural was on view at 7835 Ivanhoe Avenue from 2014–2018.
Kelsey Brookes’ unique painting practice combines color and pattern-making with a comprehensive knowledge of biochemistry. Brookes was born in 1978 in Denver, Colorado. He attended Colorado State University where he studied biochemistry and pursued life as a scientist. In 2005, he left the sciences to become a full-time artist. Brookes combines a strong understanding of science with painterly skill to create colorful, highly-detailed paintings that depict the molecular structure of drug compounds, molecules, and atoms to play with sensory perception. Often starting with a central focal point, his work radiates out through precise pattern and repetition spreading across the entirety of the canvas.
Brookes has had solo exhibitions in La Jolla, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, London, and Berlin. His work was featured as the cover art for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2012 “I’m With You” 7-inch records and The Flaming Lips’ 2013 “Stone Roses” LP. His work resides in many private collections, as well as the public permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas; and the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, Los Angeles. Brookes lives and works in San Diego, California.
20' 11" x 41' 6"
Wall Sponsors: Jennifer and Jay Levitt
Photos by Philipp Scholz Rittermann