Colleen RJC Bratton

Colleen RJC Bratton’s work is inspired by personal meditation. Through a physical and spiritual communion between her body and its surrounding natural environment Bratton pulls visual, textural and temperature markers. This natural environment takes on many forms: the sun, the cosmos, the garden, the Earth. Communal recordings are then bolstered by research into these bodies’ symbolism, roles within history and their statuses amidst climate change. This information takes shape in Bratton’s biomorphic sculptures and installations. Driven by concept, she works primarily with found materials (fabric, wood, vintage paperweights, glass and paint). The tightness of the stacked fabric, the charring of the wood and the density of the resin paperweights bring in weight and warmth to the physical presence of the sculptures. Her installations provide immersive experiences for viewers to consider routes of empathy between themselves and the non-human life forms surrounding them. 

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Colleen RJC Bratton (b. 1989 Richland, WA) lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Her installations and sculptures look at the dynamic relationship between self and space and utilize colors, shapes, and textural choices as psychological symbols for an internal process. In 2012, Bratton graduated magna cum laude from Seattle University with a degree in Visual Arts and Philosophy. Since 2017 she has been an active member of artist-run gallery SOIL, one of the longest running artist co-ops of its kind (est. 1995). Bratton has had solo shows in Seattle and Portland at the SPAC Gallery, Stumptown, Kinsey Gallery, Two Shelves and SOIL. Notable group shows include A Stranger Comes to Town at Spring/Break Art Show (New York City, NYC), Every Movement Reveals Us at Ditch Projects (Springfield, OR), Strobel & Sands (Seattle), By and By: Hope for the Future at Durden & Ray (Los Angeles, CA). In 2019, she was a Stumptown Artist Fellowship recipient. Bratton has participated in multiple artist residencies including Vermont Studio Center and Cascadia (Pacific Northwest). Her work has been reviewed and featured in Art Maze Magazine, PLEAT, Open House, The Stranger, City Arts, and Booooooom. 

Website / colleenrjcbratton.com