By Ruthann Brady
Special to the Tribune Star
River City Art Association, Inc. artist Peter Bruning is displaying at VCPL at 7th and Poplar Streets in June. Bruning will exhibit six paintings including “All that Jazz.”
Peter Bruning grew up in Amsterdam, Holland. He attended Montessori High School in the midst of World War II. After graduation Bruning enrolled in the University of Amsterdam. Though since an early age drawing, painting and sculpting were foremost in interest, Bruning decided to become a language teacher since he learned six languages as a young student.
Bruning pursued a graduate degree in Europe; studying, painting and teaching Dutch, English and German. In 1949 He received an offer to teach language at ISU where he met his wife, Margaret, a language student and art major. The couple married and moved to Bloomington where Bruning taught language at IU. From there they ventured to the University of California at Berkeley, Rice University in Houston and then back to ISU in 1956. Bruning became a U.S. citizen in 1955.
While making his living as a language teacher, Bruning continued to create art. He now works as a professional freelance artist. In 2005, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology commissioned Bruning to commemorate the 100th anniversary of modern physics. He created a 7 feet wide by 6 feet tall painting of a staged gathering of Nobel Prize-winning physicists Madam Curie, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Max Planck. The painting hangs in a stairwell overlooking the entrance to Moench Hall.
Bruning’s book, “A Taste of the World”, offers a look at his creativity that spans 50 years. One of the paintings featured in the book, “Three Graces”, is hanging in the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. The book is available at Amazon.com and the following is a review by MB at Amazon.
“A Taste of the World is a joy of an art book, an uplifting experience. It’s remarkable in a number of ways, one being that the focus is truly on the visual, with some 150 beautiful color reproductions of paintings, drawings and sculptures. There is something to savor for anyone who loves art, no matter what their age may be or where they live. Prepare to be delighted by what you’ll find here: Landscapes from Indiana to Cape Cod, from Mexico to the Greek Islands, from Amsterdam to France, Germany, Italy -and more; Still life, interiors, and, especially people-individually and in groups. The Dutch/Indiana artist, Peter Bruning, is a master. His work is honest and original. His sense of composition and color and style are right on the mark, his eye for detail is keen. This is a beautiful book, one to be enjoyed over and over again.
Other River City Art association artists are exhibiting at The Landing, 3350 N. 4th St. Terre Haute, In. Join the artist every Tuesday evening at 6 pm for “Meet the Artist” night. More information about River City Art association may be viewed at http://rcaa.info or call Ruthann Brady at 812 235 5759
RIVER CITY ART ASSOCIATION 