Brett Piva’s second solo exhibition at Straitjacket was based around his recent artist residency undertaken in Japan this past February. The Japanese urban landscape captured the artist’s attention at the beginning of this trip, informing the way Brett chose to make his way around the city. He cycled and walked as much as he could. He immersed himself in his surroundings. This gave him time to take note of the building details, to see the fading paint and notice the dirty glue residue. All these elements making their way into the final pieces on exhibition in “Cold Knuckles at Crossroads”. 

Brett trained as a sign writer and commercial artist before he pivoted into the world of fine art. These aesthetics and techniques linger in his work today. He uses the age-old gold-leaf gilding on glass signwriting technique and the signature Fluro paint of window splash designs. In this exhibition, Brett has placed figurative imagery amongst the abstraction elements. A first for many years, people have also appeared in his paintings. These components placed thoughtfully next to a recognisable landscape and a building structure. The works still hinting at abstraction. 

While “Cold Knuckles at Crossroads” was based around a specific geographical location, the works in the exhibition also philosophise about the everyday on any continent. Cracked cement walls, farmland, riding a train are all familiar to us, we don’t need to have visited Japan to understand this experience. Looking at Brett’s artworks unlocks a powerful conception and offers viewers a unique perception into realising their own encounters and joys of everyday life. 

Straitjacket co-director Ahn Wells.