Baggett will display 23 pieces with one piece consisting of 16 smaller paintings – all faces or parts of the face.
“My show is all about the face and people,” Baggett said. ”I’ve included a few dreamscapes, as I do in most of my shows. They are seemingly, but not, nonsensical conglomerates of where my mind has been. I paint them in between ‘show themed’ pieces to clear my head.”
This will be Baggett’s second year in a row exhibiting paintings at Canterbury Chapel. Rachel Dobson, Baggett’s friend and the visual resources curator in the UA art history department, said she can’t wait to see Baggett’s next exhibit.
“The work I saw last year was wonderful – it was colorful, full of movement, and evoked lots of feeling,” Dobson said. “Those paintings reminded me of artists like Franz Marc, August Macke and some of the German Expressionists, like Kirchner, who also used color, shape and compositional movement to express emotion and to develop their subjects.”
Baggett graduated from Auburn in 1993 with a BA in fine arts and painting. In college, Baggett said he would lock himself in his room and draw for hours, which allowed him to be quiet and focused. He said being an introvert in public helped him make keen observations of those around him.
“I love the crowds milling on the Strip on game day, the electricity that’s in the air and the shared excitement of everyone, like we’re all part of something ?bigger,” Baggett said.
Now working at Bama Backyard’s and Sales, Baggett said he lost his 30s to a job he despised: working as a merchandising manager at a large furniture chain.
“It was quite the growth experience,” Baggett said. “While I was amazed at what I accomplished, I was spread very thin for modest wages, and quite frankly, learned to loathe the place. I left for my mental and physical health and ?well-being.”
After quitting his job at the furniture store, Baggett decided to move to Tuscaloosa after meeting his partner of four years, Mark Leggett.
“Yes, Brandon is introverted,” Leggett said. “He recharges during quiet, down times. I plug into social events to get my charge. We somehow find a happy balance. I do believe he finds expressive outlets through his art. He is so creative and has such a huge imagination. He can spend hours painting and feels like I do after a day of seeing clients.”
As to whether the eyes are the window to the soul, Baggett says he likes to look at the whole picture.
“Communication begins with the face and ends with the word,” Baggett said.
Brandon Baggett’s exhibit, “Kisser,” will be on display from July 9 to July 31 in the gallery at the Canterbury Chapel. A reception will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with light food as well as wine and beer.
