Twice a year, Brosk drives to sawmills in Pennsylvania to select wood for its unusual shape and imperfections. He allows some pieces to crack as they dry, while others are kiln-dried to prevent splitting. Contrast is a key element for Brosk; rough against smooth, light against dark and warm against cool invoking both the minimalism of the East and the vastness of the American Southwest. Time and weather leave their markings where the artist then works to stain, chisel and sand before adding squares of 22-karat gold leaf or blue-gray slate to the surfaces. Brosk’s attention to color and surface difference is that of a painter, placing tree shaped slices of wood against the orderliness of machined lumber. The formal and spatial ideas explored in Brosk’s work offer a solution to the creation of interior environments with a consideration of human perception and physical environment. His functional work serves to supply the artist's appreciation for the beauty of simplicity and the complexity that lies in the details upon close contact. Both modalities are meant to establish a sense of place in the spirit of the mind.
