Bryna McCann Discusses Figurative Sculpture in Contemporary Art

Bryna McCann is a sculptor living and working in the Hudson Valley in NY. In the following article, discusses the challenge of creating relevant figurative sculpture in contemporary terms and the necessity of making work that is both historically informed as well as expressively direct. Contemporary art redefined the way the world creates and sees art, introduced a wide range of mediums and influences into the modern world, and challenged the notion of what art can be and what it can mean. Bryna McCann states that the definition of contemporary art also continues to evolve. Several distinct contemporary art movements have either reflected society, chose to subvert it – or both – while inspiring new generations of artists with ever-expanding perspectives. As such, the concept of figuration has and will continue to broaden and take on new meaning. In Bryna McCann’s work the figure/body is at the threshold of our inner and outer worlds. Serving as an inquiry into the entangled terrain of the senses, memory, and perception extending to the complex and often contradictory relationship that humans have with nature and their environment at large. She suggests that it is difficult to ignore the connection between historical progress and the violence that has permeated it. It is this myth of progress and the false certainty that drives it that she is in conversation with. Bryna McCann Concrete Figures, 2021 : installation view Bryna McCann discusses her current work and preferred medium: concrete. A ubiquitous substance of industrialization, concrete conjures complicated feelings about the natural disasters playing out all across the globe and our alienation from nature. Concrete as a medium, with its heavy history and inherent dualities (ancient/modern, ugly/beautiful, natural/artificial, permanent/impermanent) speaks to the nature of paradox. The results are deconstructed to the extent that meaning is shifted, and possible interpretation becomes multifaceted. Multilayered images arise in which the fragility and instability of our seemingly certain, concrete reality is questioned. By pushing the expressive potential of sculptural forms and materials, Bryna McCann endeavors to keep her work connected to the present states of anxiety that stem from the uncertain times we all find ourselves in. Bryna McCann Concrete Figures, 2021 Bryna McCann Concrete Figures, 2021 As we continue to navigate the complexities of our world, contemporary art movements will undoubtedly continue to progress – because of this, art has inspired us to think differently, evolve, and shape new understandings of ourselves and our place in the world. Bryna McCann Concrete Figures II, 2022 Bryna McCann was born in Huntington, NY. She studied Traditional Chinese Medicine and various other modalities of body-work in and after college. During this period she spent her extracurricular time studying drawing and painting under several prominent teachers in New York City. She was introduced to the La Jolla Playhouse prop shop during an extended stay in San Diego. It was during this pivotal period that she learned welding and metal fabrication and fell in love with three-dimensional form. This discovery crystallized her whole-hearted commitment to art. Soon after she received her first commission for a large-scale outdoor sculpture in steel. At the same time she was creating abstract works out of steel, she began studying figurative sculpture: first at the California Sculpture Academy then at the Florence Academy of Art. Thereafter, she received her MFA from the NY Academy of Art where she refined her creative vision and expanded the media and materials she works in. Bryna McCann has exhibited extensively in the U.S. and abroad and her work is in numerous public and private collections.