Public invited to meet the artist and celebrate the exhibition on Thursday, March 19 from 6–8 PM at the Herb + Milly Iris Gallery

 

RSVP to the Reception | March 19

The Herb + Milly Iris Gallery at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is proud to present Between Places, an exhibition of paintings and drawings by artist Brian Wall. The exhibition will be on display March 19 – May 3, with an Opening Reception on Thursday, March 19, from 6–8 PM. The public is invited to attend the free reception, meet the artist, and experience a collection of works spanning multiple years and locations that have shaped Wall’s evolving artistic practice.

There are artists who paint what they see. And then there are artists like Brian Wall, who paint how they move through the world.

Between Places spans multiple years of work created across Colorado, Costa Rica, North Carolina, and New Jersey. The exhibition traces Wall’s evolution as a self-taught artist learning to balance instinct with intention.

His earliest ink drawings pulse with intuitive energy. Over time, that spontaneity sharpened rather than softened. The work remains dynamic but increasingly grounded in craft, revealing a productive tension between impulse and control that drives the exhibition.

Each place leaves its imprint. The bold, saturated abstraction of Wall’s early Colorado years gives way to the openness and organic flow that emerge in Costa Rica, where immersion in nature sparks both ease and environmental awareness. In North Carolina, greater planning enters the studio, and themes of connection and isolation begin to surface.

“Most of my newer work has a lot to do with connection and isolation,” Wall explains, “the way that we have so many systems in a city that are completely different, but somehow still work together.”

Later works created in New Jersey grow denser and more industrial, with restrained color and compressed space suggesting pace and pressure.

“In Brian’s work, you can actually see the shift,” notes curator Jeremy Moss. “The early pieces feel like pure momentum. As the years unfold, that energy doesn’t fade; it becomes focused. The spontaneity is still there, but now it’s supported by craft and deliberation.”

Wall’s work has often been compared to M.C. Escher for its shifting geometry and layered perspective. Structures bend and loop, and what first appears abstract begins to reveal glimpses of narrative within the composition.

“A lot of people just want to be comfortable around their art,” Wall reflects. “Other people love being challenged by it. It lights up their brain.”

“Brian challenges you to look twice,” Moss adds. “The first glance is impact. The second glance is discovery. Somewhere between those two moments, you realize the painting has changed, or maybe you have.”

Spanning years and landscapes, Between Places reads like a map of belonging, an exploration of how movement, environment, and experience shape both the artist and the art.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Exhibition: Between Places

Artist: Brian Wall

Venue: The Herb + Milly Iris Gallery at SOPAC

On View: March 19 – May 3

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 19 | 6–8PM (Free & open to the public)

More about the Exhibition