BROCKMANN Pipo

Guillermo Brockmann, better known as Pipo, was born in Mexico City and raised in Guadalajara. He is the son of a Mexican architect and an American painter. He received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of design and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. 

Pipo's paintings of dogs, animals, trees, and the human figure dance with color on the two dimensional surface. With dabs and knives full of impasto color, brushstrokes and dribbles of loose paint he builds layer upon layer of information, developing and deleting, making bold choices and finally exposing his image. In the end we see surfaces with the same energy authenticity and freshness that his sculptures command. Dogs stretch themselves out across the canvases or look at you with their heads cocked as if reacting to your approach, monkey ear trees spread their abundant branches, lush, heavy with foliage, cocky roosters crow, and a human face speaks to you silently.

In Pipo's own words: “Creating a piece is half of its life, the other half lives in the eye of the beholder. People ask what inspires you, and I answer: My son inspires me.  Jumping into the cool river inspires me, eating a fresh orange, watching the dawn break from the water, calling home or the importance of hanging with friends. Making a good painting inspires me, it is a flow of good energy. Painting is like fishing, you have to show up and put your line in the water. You can look for inspiration in many places but in the end, you have to put in the time in the studio. I used to look at paintings for inspiration, Then I started looking at the painters themselves and what was going on in their lives. Their painting was a reflection of everyday affairs, whether their lives had been that of a court painter, a bullfighter, a lover, a rich or a poor man, their paintings speak of their place in history, and their particular intimate interests. You begin to understand, it is not just about the painting, it is about a point of view, where you stand in time and how you see your world. What is going on in our lives has so much to say about where art comes from. It’s about paying attention and appreciating. I love Dylan and Hendrix, Bob Marley and Stevie Vaughn, and the Burning Spear. Fishing and surfing are pure, riding horses, and running my dogs are important to my painting, but the studio is where it has to come together, where it has to happen.”