Brian Halsey

Brian Halsey was born in Kendallville Indiana in 1942. He studied art at Wheaton College in Illinois where he graduated magna cum laude, Chicago Art Institute, and Michigan State University where he also graduated magna cum laude. He holds an M.A. degree in Church History and the Creative Arts. In 1969 was awarded a United States Steel Fellowship scholarship to study at Florida State University from where he graduated in 1972 with a Ph.D. in Humanities. His thesis was entitled Paul Gauguin: a study of the Christ theme in his art and thought. Additional study included research and studio art study in London, Paris, Holland, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. At the height of his career (late 1970s), Halsey was creating serigraphs and acrylic paintings that according to him were his endeavor to “visualize an ideal”. The pieces represent the Trinity and often involve “emanating light in ordered structures, suspended in deep space,” an attempt to point to cosmic order through mathematics. Unlike many artists, Halsey was totally involved with the print making process from mixing his own inks, to cutting all stencils and often physically printing many of his own editions. Halsey taught art at Spring Arbor College in the 1970s, helping to establish their art program. He took a sabbatical in 1975 to fully concentrate on his art, devoting his career full time to painting and printmaking. After 1978, Halsey worked primarily as an artist and print maker. He is most well-known for his hard-edged three-dimensional serigraphs. Since the mid-1980s, Halsey has served as an art consultant to design firms, businesses and hospitals. In 2006 he returned to Spring Arbor University to display his art, and at that time he was living in Dexter Michigan with his wife and children and was still working as an artist, “developing images that combine mixed media techniques, computer imaging and ink jet printing.”