Krysta: Can you tell our audience a little more about yourself?
I was born in Sun Valley, ID in 1982 and that is where I currently live. I was raised in an artistic family with my parents making constant trips to Santa Fe/Taos and expanding their Western Art Collection into Broschofsky Galleries with its opening in 1987. I basically grew up in their gallery and I’ve been a partner and gallery director since graduating college in 2005.
Sun Valley is a small isolated ski resort town and I’m lucky to have grown up in such a special place. I’ve never been very interested in team sports and I spent my adolescence snowboarding, skateboarding, mountain biking, camping, kayaking, and enjoying all that our surrounding areas have to offer. Why am I saying, adolescents? I still enjoy all of these things and never really grew up.
Krysta: Growing up, did you always want to be an artist? Then expanding on that, what did the beginning of your art career look like?
Rudi: With my childhood being surrounded by high-quality artists such as Russell Chatham, Edward Curtis, and Andy Warhol I was always very inspired and artistic. That was also increased by growing up 10 miles out of a dirt road in the middle of the Sawtooth National Forest, we had no cable television and no neighbors in my age group so artwork became my outlet to pass the time.
I’ve always known the difficulty of being a successful artist and never even considered that as a career path. I studied business finance in school with the intention of running Broschofsky Galleries as my full time job and passion. In 2012 I was fortunate to be invited to a local art show based on my growing collection of “hobby artworks”. The show was a success, an inspiration to develop my own unique style and pursue art on a more serious level. I’m now lucky enough to run an art gallery representing a collection of great artists and create my own art at the same time.
Krysta: How has your style developed over the years?
Rudi: That first show that I was invited to was called “Death to Day Jobs”. I had 10 pieces in the show and each work looked like it was done by a different artist with no recognizable style, medium or theme. With the show’s attendance and success, it was a good kick in the pants to develop my own unique style and technique before the next year’s show. I wanted to come up with something that was apparent and photographic from a distance but became more abstract the closer you get to it. It took a lot of trial and error in the beginning, but with time and also the help of my wife’s incredible graphic design knowledge (thank you Cara Shumate!) we were able to hone in on a process that is still developing.
Krysta: What does your creative process look like for one of your pieces?
Rudi: With my background and knowledge of Western Art I really liked that as a subject matter, but I also liked more contemporary art and was especially drawn to street art. Through the use of hand-cut stencil and spray paint my artwork stands as a unique fusion of the two distinct genres.
My process involves creating a paper stencil with an Exacto knife, then spray painting through the paper to create a painting (each line or dot is the cutout negative space). It can take several months to create a single stencil, but the painting process is fairly quick.
Krysta: What is it about the Western culture that you find inspirational enough to influence your work?
Rudi: There’s something about the rich history, the iconic Wild West characters, and the beautiful vast landscapes that have always piqued my interest.
Krysta: How do you want people to feel when they view your work? Or what thoughts/feelings should they come away with?
Rudi: Honestly, I just want people to find the beauty in my work. I want them to appreciate it and find a way to admire it and get lost in it every time they look at it. I also think understanding the details behind my process helps to add some storytelling and a fun backstory to each piece. Almost all of my subjects have a history or a unique element and I try to educate my audience by writing a narrative on each painting and giving a history behind each painting.
You can learn more about Rudi and his available pieces at Rudibro.com and you can also follow hIm on Instagram at RudiBro or search Rudi Broschofsky.
Photo Captions/Titles
ANNIE Caption: “Annie Oakley” 48″ x 48″ Spray Paint on Panel
BIG BISON caption: “Big Buffalo Bull”, 60″ x 40″ Spray Paint on Panel with Resin
TRAVLER_BLUE_YELLOW caption: “The Traveler” 96″ x 36″ Spray Paint on Panel
BRONCO RIDER caption: “Amplitude”, 58″ x 45″, Spray Paint on Panel (Bronco Rider)
BIGHORN_RAM_MIDNIGHT_ORIGINAL Caption: “Bighorn Sheep” 48″ x 48″ Spray Paint on Panel with Resin
JF Signature Caption: “John Ford Point, Monument Valley”, 36″ x 72″ Spray Paint on Panel with Resin
The_Scout Caption: “The Scout” 45″ x 60″ Spray Paint on Panel
PEACEMAKER caption: “Peacemaker” 48″ x 48″ Spray Paint on Panel with Resin
