Exhibition Details

MARC STRAUS is pleased to present the artist Michael Brown's fourth solo exhibition with the gallery. He was originally trained as a sculptor, and became well-known at a very young age for his stainless steel welded ‘cracked mirrors’ and a series of works made with melted vinyl discs. More recently, Brown has turned to highly sculptural paintings, working with gold leaf and oil paint. Now he takes on painting at a smaller scale – 12x 12-inch square canvases where his soft, pastel-driven color palette takes a sharp inward turn. These intimate, quieter works hark back to paintings by Agnes Martin, Giorgio Morandi, Etel Adnan, and Miyoko Ito, to Shaker drawings and the transcendentalist movement.
Brown has opted for both a limited colour palette and reduced forms. His use of soft, predominantly warm hues such as amber, ochre, sun-yellow and muted burnt orange creates works that compel further study. They are meditative, almost devotional-looking objects. “I embrace their domestic scale; I think important things can be found in small gestures.” – says Brown of the new paintings.
An opening reception will be held on Sunday, September 10th from 4 to 7 PM at the gallery. The artist will be present. Viewing hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM.