Self-Portrait, 1995
Oil on wood
24" Round

Andrea Broyles has always been inspired by the figure. It is a common theme from classical art and mythology. Yet the figure can be interpreted in fresh contemporary ways. Broyles is interested in the spectrum of the human condition: love, fear, death, pain, desire, loneliness and in the great variety of psycho-social issues in our common culture.

In her latest paintings (see "Tunnels," "Liquid and Light," and "Turning Point") Broyles again uses the figure to depict the merging of birth and death on many levels. This new work lives in the shadow world amidst sickness and healing, helplessness and hope, between feeling things are out of control and finding solid ground.

Andrea Broyles focused on figurative sculpture as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin. She later started painting and since that time it has been imperative for her to work in both painting and sculpture. "I am not sure if my paintings are sculptural or my sculptures are painterly but I am inspired and energized by alternating between the two and even combining them in the same piece." Although the themes may change, the essence, style and imagery of Broyles' work has a consistency – it is figurative. She continues to work with the realistic form of the figure and its abstraction.