A Mind-Blowing Conversation with Braxton Garneau

Photo Credit : Aaron Pedersen

Braxton Garneau is an artist whose name we must remember. His bold and intricate works signal the arrival of an artist destined for greatness, with a trajectory set to soar in the years to come.

His meticulously-constructed new body of work, Metamorphosis Ball, is currently on view at Efraín López's eponymous gallery in New York through October 12, 2024. For his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Garneau delves deeper into his exploration of materiality and costume, presenting a series of arched canvases that function as portals, blending cultural and historical references into intricate portraits. With a keen attention to detail, Garneau integrates hand-processed shells into lace-like patterns, using these delicate elements to challenge societal norms of self-adornment and identity.

As Garneau looks ahead to his next major milestone—a solo booth at Art Toronto in his native Canada—his evolving practice continues to explore the intersection of personal and collective identity through gesture and three-dimensional forms. Keep an eye on his trajectory, as his latest works draw viewers into a realm where masquerade serves as a powerful tool for social transformation. 

I had the pleasure of asking Braxton about “material honesty,” the meaning behind his use of asphalt, bones, and shells, his latest exhibition, and so much more.

UZOMAH: Your work often centers on “material honesty,” using natural, hand-processed materials like shells, asphalt, and sugarcane pulp. How does your selection process for these materials begin, and what specific qualities of these materials resonate with you in the creation of your art?

BRAXTON: I use the term 'material honesty' to reflect on how the use of living matter can imbue work with its essence and power. Most often, I am initially drawn to a material based on either its inherent formal qualities or a previous relationship I have with it.

For example, I’ve been collecting shells since I was a kid on family trips, and I have jars of them in my studio. Initially, it was the variation in shape that caught my eye, but surrounded by these once-living beings, I found myself drawn to their dual nature: a memento of protection, yet also delicate and fragile. These dualities resonate with me and are present in the work that I make.

Braxton Garneau Masquerade II, 2024 Asphalt and acrylic on canvas with raffia 15 x 10 inches (BG0049) Courtesy the Artist and Efraín López Photo by Inna Svyatsky

U: In Metamorphosis Ball, you introduce intricate lace patterns made from shells. Could you describe your technical process for transforming such unconventional materials into these delicate forms and what cultural or historical significance this lace imagery holds in your broader narrative of armor and adornment?

B: I experimented with several shells and processes before finding one containing both the sheen and structure needed to create these intricate lace patterns. I ended up choosing white cockle shells for their dull lustre and brittleness which I then ground with a mortar and pestle until they became a powder. I added a small amount of pigment to enhance the opacity, mixed it with a gel medium, and then piped it into the delicate, lace-inspired surface patterns you see in the work.

Oil portraits from the Dutch Golden Age initiated my fascination with lace, particularly the contrast between the delicate lace patterns and the black billowing outfits. I knew that lace had historically been used as a decorative feature and status symbol, but until I began my research, I didn’t realize it originally was a functional element—a simple neck cover to keep clothing clean. The relationship between functional armour and aesthetic adornment, and how it has shifted over time, was a central part of my research for the works in Metamorphosis Ball. 

Braxton Garneau Masquerade (Harlequin White), 2024 Asphalt and acrylic on canvas with raffia and crushed shell 52 x 38 inches

(BG0043) Courtesy the Artist and Efraín López  Photo by Blane Campbell

U: The arched canvases in this exhibition serve as “portals” that collapse time and culture. How do you see the canvas's form contributing to the thematic exploration of transformation and masquerade, and what role do you think the shape plays in guiding the viewer’s experience?

B: The arched forms used in these canvases can be traced back to the stelas of ancient Babylonia used as monuments and to markers of  thresholds. Later in European religious art, this classical form was used to elevate painted scenes, figures and events.

My intention in using these arched forms is to not only elevate the subject matter but also shift the way the viewer experiences the work. By removing the angular edges of the work, the boundary between the viewer and the figure is disputed, bringing the figure into our realm. It moves the work away from being read as a “scene” and brings the viewer face-to-face with the figure.

Braxton Garneau Masquerade (Aranea), 2024 Asphalt and acrylic on canvas with raffia, jute and crushed shell 72 x 30 inches (BG0046) Courtesy the Artist and Efraín López Photo by Blane Campbell

U: Your work often merges the personal and political, particularly with the use of masquerade as a disruptive tool for social change. Could you expand on how the idea of masquerade and self-adornment in this exhibition challenges societal norms or reveals hidden identities?

B: I am interested in the inherent subversive qualities of costuming and self-adornment, specifically how the altering of self can allow you to exist in spaces beyond everyday reality. Historically, masquerade was used as a way to blur lines between gender, race and class, and allow individuals to exist outside established hierarchies. It is also a place to experiment with self-expression and channel hidden identities.

Braxton Garneau Masquerade IV, 2024 Asphalt and acrylic on linen with raffia and crushed shell 15 x 10 inches (BG0051) Courtesy the Artist and Efraín López Photo by Inna Svyatsky

U: Many of your past works engage with costuming and transformation, themes that continue in Metamorphosis Ball. What are the most significant ways your understanding of these themes has evolved through this new series, and how does this exhibition push your previous explorations forward?

B: My interest in costuming and transformation began with a previous body of work, Procession, thinking about the history of Canboulay and Carnival in Trinidad and the use of masquerade as a form of resistance in Afro-Caribbean cultures.

Metamorphosis Ball approaches costuming in a broader sense than in the past and pulls in ideas of protective biological costuming to create a less human-centric concept of adornment. In this work, I was thinking about the ways in which other living creatures use ornamentation for protection, to hide, and to intimidate, and how those functions translate into costuming.

Braxton Garneau Masquerade (Matador), 2024 Asphalt and acrylic on canvas with raffia and crushed shell 72 x 30 inches (BG0047) Courtesy the Artist and Efraín López Photo by Blane Campbell

U: You use materials like asphalt, bones, and shells, which seem to carry both personal and cultural weight. How do these materials connect to your identity and background, and in what ways do they serve as conduits for expressing ideas about transformation, adaptation, or heritage?

B: I began using asphalt in my work in 2022 and was specifically interested in this material for its personal significance. It connects the the journey of my grandparents from Trinidad, which is home to the world’s largest naturally exposed asphalt deposit, called Pitch Lake, to the oil sands in Northern Alberta, where my grandfather came to work in the 1960’s

I also often use oxtail bones and cowrie shells, both of which are connected to my Trinidadian heritage. Oxtail is used in stews my grandmother made for me as a child and cowrie shells, which were once a vital form of currency within the trans-Atlantic slave trade that brought millions of enslaved Africans to the Caribbean.

For me, these natural materials are grounded in colonial, cultural and personal histories of those, like myself, who’ve spent generations in proximity to them. They speak of resilience, migration, transformation and collective resistance.

Braxton Garneau Masquerade (Imago), 2024 Asphalt and acrylic on canvas with raffia, goat skin and crushed shell 74 x 48 inches

(BG0045) Courtesy the Artist and Efraín López Photo by Blane Campbell

U: You’ve mentioned your habit of collecting and hand-processing many of the materials you use in your work. How has this practice of gathering and preparing materials shaped your evolution as an artist, and how do you see this process influencing the way you think about themes like resourcefulness, memory, or preservation in your art?

B:  I have always been fascinated by natural materials. As a small child, I would come home with pockets full of grass that I had tied together or a tiny, clenched fist full of insect wings. Eventually, I began bringing home handfuls of colored clay, vibrant flower petals, and other pigmented objects and substances, many of which found their way into my studies and studio experiments.

As I explore how to process and alter these materials,  I feel as if I am tapping into a collective unconscious. When I discover how to extract pigment from clay or how to refine a stalk of sugarcane into a bundle of delicate strands of fiber, I feel as if I am tapping into the memories of my ancestors.  Accessing these skills, which aren't lost but are no longer a part of daily life, is fulfilling and only deepens my reverence for the gifts of the natural world.

For more information about Braxton’s artwork, please visit his page here and follow him on Instagram. The magazine showcases Braxton’s current exhibition, which can be found here.