Cloudy With a Chance, 2021

Acrylic, charcoal, and graphite on panel

16 x 20 inches

Fair Market Value: $500

Starting Bid: $350

Buy It Now: $750
BRIAN WETJEN is a multi disciplinary Artist living in Omaha, Nebraska. Wetjen draws inspiration from travel, the great outdoors, and significant life experiences, frequently referencing vistas, textures, and patterns that inspire feelings of peace and calm. Wetjen studied printmaking at the University of Nebraska Omaha (BASA, 1998) and the Karel de Grote Hogeschool in Antwerp, Belgium. He primarily works in painting (acrylic, charcoal, graphite, chalk, watercolor), sculpture, ceramics, and installation.

"I have been focused on painting for several years as a means of translating the images and ideas in my head to paper and canvas so I can share them with others. Recently, I've been integrating more 3-D work into my studio practice. The relationship between real-world objects and experiences is essential to my work, just as it's essential for us as humans to have real, present, physical experiences along with visual and intellectual ones. Our hands and bodies can see and sense in their own ways like our eyes and brain can. I like to create work that allows viewers to connect with memories that remind them of beautiful and peaceful places they have visited, moments where they have felt comfort and love, and the feelings that flow with those memories. My paintings are generally abstractions of landscapes and visual stories. My sculptural and installation work explores places and references to our natural environment using similar abstractions."

Awards and exhibitions include a 2018 OEAA for Best 2-Person Show for Interwoven: Brian Wetjen and Sarah Kolar at the Michael Phipps Gallery; Nebraska Biennial Exhibition at Gallery 1516 in 2017 and 2024; Museum of Alternative History, KANEKO, 2018; and a 2021 OEAA for Best Group Show for Let's Be Alone Together, Brian Wetjen and Jill Rizzo, at the Omaha Jewish Community Center.