We surround ourselves with things that reflect us. Art is no different, it is a window onto our experience.
Deborah Brown’s recent paintings were made during the Covid-19 pandemic in New York, where the artist lives and works.
Reflecting a time of social isolation, the paintings depict individuals in domestic settings with their pets, as well as still life objects drawn from the artist’s collections. The common thread is an examination of what it means to be human in a time of loss and resilience.
Watch
Deborah Brown - Platform from Unit London on Vimeo.
Brown represents the consciousness of the sitter and the phenomenological act of seeing that unfolds when the viewer meets the gaze of the subject portrayed.
Installation
Different viewpoints are employed to place the viewer in a variety of roles: friend, observer, intruder, storyteller.
The still life’s function, similarly to portraiture, is to reveal the life of the artist, and function as a gateway to their thoughts and feelings. Through the action of the paint and brushwork, the figurines, plants and domestic articles come alive and assume a human character. The environment created by the paintings is both specific and universal, reminding us that each of us is alone in our inner and external worlds.
Works
Deborah Brown
Bathtub Self-Portrait with Zeus
2020
Deborah Brown
Peacock Screen
2020
Deborah Brown
Home Alone
2020
Deborah Brown
Night Bathtub
2020
Deborah Brown
Shadows
2020
Deborah Brown
Self-Portrait with Peety
2020
Deborah Brown
Hunters in the Snow
2020
Deborah Brown
Rainbow
2020
About the Artist
Deborah Brown, who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, received a BA from Yale University and an MFA from Indiana University.
Recent exhibitions include: Anna Zorina Gallery, New York; Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles and Palm Beach; Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art, Houston; The Lodge, Los Angeles; Volery Gallery, Dubai, U.A.E.; Freight + Volume, New York; Lesley Heller Gallery, New York; BravinLee Programs, New York; Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen; and Angell Gallery, Toronto. Her work has been written about in The New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, The Wall Street Journal, ARTnews and Artnet, among others. Brown has been a visiting artist and lecturer at Penn State University, Hunter College, Pace University, Columbia University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Yale University and Art Omi. She is a 2020 Fellow in Shandaken Projects’ Paint School Master Class.
Chosen Charity
