We are thrilled to collaborate with the Artists Association of Nantucket this year to feature their talented artist members. The AAN is a non-profit organization supporting Nantucket artists, providing educational programs in the arts, and preserving the legacy of Nantucket artists. Visit their website, their gallery at 12 Straight Wharf, upstairs, their studio at 24 Amelia Drive, or give them a call at 508-228-0722.
Meet the Artist – Meryl Bralower
What is your artistic background/education? How did you first get interested in art?
My husband and I have always been collectors. During the pandemic I started taking collage courses online and found that it combined my love of color and design. I started by picking Nantucket related themes. My inspiration now comes from my lifelong love of fashion.
What is the most inspirational/influential place on Nantucket for you in terms of your art?
The beautiful gardens. My husband and I have always had a garden and we love visiting other gardens on Nantucket. My first designs incorporated lots of flowers and then different and unusual vases, including some vases with a scene. I’ve also created a variety of collages with a basket motif including several with butterflies.
What are your passions outside of art?
Movies and film festivals .
You’ve been given an unlimited budget to curate your dream collection for a new gallery. Who’s art and what are you including?
Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Renoir, Chagall, Kandinsky, Rothko, Bonnard, Vuillard, Boudin, Pollack, the impressionist period and a bit before and the artists that followed.
What are you currently working on?
Teaching a collage class and working on my fashion “paper doll” series that incorporates my love of fashion.
Who are three artists who have influenced your work?
Georgia O’Keefe, Matisse, and Eileen Pollack. O’Keefe because of her flowers. Matisse not only because of his collages and his use of shapes, but I also love his painting. I added Eileen Pollack, a local collage artist also a member of AAN, because she introduced me to collage. And I would add if you’ll let me, Picasso. I hadn’t realized until I saw a review of an exhibition that he was the first to do collage.
What is your inspiration while producing artwork? What are you thinking of and attempting to create
I actually love the stories around the people who purchase my art and why. The story about my friend who commissioned me to do a Jackie Kennedy collage, or the story of a collage that someone purchased at AAN ending up with a personal shopper at Saks. Another collage was gifted to someone’s granddaughter in Paris. I also make greeting cards that people can frame and I hear stories from people who frame as gifts for a relative or friend.