Brunelle’s In A Silent Way is one of many paintings currently on exhibition at The Arts at the Armory Gallery.

By Cathleen Twardzik

Ron Brunelle, a long time Somerville resident, will show his recent paintings at the Arts at the Armory Gallery.  The exhibit, which is entitled, Ron Brunelle – Recent Paintings, will run from January 2 to January 29 at the Armory, located at 191 Highland Ave in Somerville.

Brunelle’s use of vivid color, in combination with textured surfaces, metallic paint and translucent washes create powerful abstract paintings, which play with intent, as well as the element of chance.

“A common thread throughout the show is my love of color. I often will build up many layers in a painting, obliterating early layers of paint with new ones, [and] then, scraping or sanding to expose portions beneath,” said Brunelle.

The Arts at the Armory Gallery was selected as the exhibit’s location because Michelle Fiorenza, whom Brunelle knew previously, contacted him to inquire if he was interested in having a show at the Arts at the Armory Gallery in time to coincide with the mayor’s inaugural reception on the eve of January 2.

“I know Michelle from her involvement with the Nave Gallery, where I’ve shown my paintings several times in recent years, and she felt I had a quality body of work that would produce a compelling show to kick off the Gallery’s 2012 schedule of exhibits,” said Brunelle.

Brunelle is a recipient of a Somerville Arts Council 2011 Visual Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and he has exhibited widely in the Boston area, including galleries such as Bromfield Gallery, 13 Forest Gallery, Nave Gallery and Tufts University Art Gallery. Because there are copious artists in the Boston area, it proves challenging to receive ample exposure.

How long have has Brunelle been an artist?  “I like to say since third grade. When I was eight years old and in the third grade, we had a class assignment for each kid to draw a winter scene in colored chalk. When we finished, the teacher looked at our work and singled mine out as the most accomplished.  At that moment my path was set. I wanted to be an artist.”

Prior to entering college, “I spent every moment I could in the art department. The teacher, Tom Hanley, was an alum of the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts, and I had visited the school on a class trip.  When I graduated [from] high school, I applied there and was accepted. Going to art school was when I started to take making art seriously,” he said.

Brunelle considers the most satisfying aspect of painting to be, “The act of painting, being in the studio working is the most rewarding part. Getting into shows, getting praise and selling my paintings is also rewarding, but what feeds my soul is the creative process, which is independent of external rewards.”

Interested individuals may visit the Amory’s Web site at http://www.artsatthearmory.org/.