Steven "Songan" Brunner 81 AP (1958–2022)
Steven "Songan" Brunner 81 AP died on April 18, 2022 after a two-month battle with brain lymphoma. He is survived by his husband Daniel Baum and brother James Brunner.
Steven started at RISD in Graphic Design, but he later chose to pursue Apparel Design. Upon graduation from RISD, he was creative director and principle of his own multi-faceted design studio in Milan, Italy and Sydney, Australia while painting and exhibiting as well. Throughout his career, he collaborated with leaders in the fashion industry (Akris, Alberta Ferretti, Asprey, Cadette, Giorgio Armani, Lisa Ho, Moschino, Pollini, Ralph Lauren, Solleciti, Trussardi, among others).
Artwork
For the last few years, Brenner's focus has been painting spatial abstractions based on his journey to the underworld. Inspiration came from the fact that in the underworld, nature and soul are of the same substance. His paintings reveal a glimpse of this passionate world with its darkness, magic, and light. These painted abstractions are mapped out with multiple overlapping intertwining layers that unite into a single abstract composition without any sense of place or time and are not concerned with a literal depiction of things from the visible world. Rather, his pieces reshape the natural world by breaking away from experienced reality to exist only as sensory experiences that express a moment in time and space somewhere between the here and the now. It’s about seeing and feeling the unseen.
