Cecily Brown
Encyclopedia
Cecily Brown, born 1969 in London
, is a British
painter. She has a great respect for art history
and her works reveal her reverence and high regard for artists such as Francisco de Goya, Nicolas Poussin
, Willem de Kooning
, and Joan Mitchell
while incorporating into her works her distinct female view point.
, England (1985–1987), drawing and printmaking classes, Morley College
, London, 1987–1989, and BA in Fine Arts, Slade School of Art, London (1989–93).
Brown’s work has appeared at the Whitney Biennial
2004 in New York, The Triumph of Painting at the Saatchi Gallery
, London and “Greater New York” at P.S. 1, New York. She has exhibited at galleries and museums including Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, MACRO in Rome and Museum der Moderna, Salzburg. She is represented by Gagosian Gallery
.
Cecily Brown’s paintings combine figuration and abstraction
. Expanding the tradition of abstract expressionism
, she draws her influences from painters such as Willem de Kooning
. Her paintings also recall the works of Philip Guston
and the Bay Area Figurative School
of the 1950s and 1960s. Brown often titles her paintings after classic Hollywood films, such as The Pyjama Game, The bedtime story and The Fugitive Kind.
Brown's work has attracted the attention of collectors including Elton John
and Michael Ovitz
. She has become known for her painting style suggestive of abstract and abstract expressionist painters such as de Kooning
and Oskar Kokoschka
. Sexuality and attraction are important themes in her work, which she explores through semi-figurative and abstract means. Her paintings are in the permanent collections of several important museums and institutions including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
, in Buffalo, New York
and the Des Moines Art Center
, in Des Moines, Iowa
(in 2006 the Des Moines Art Center organized Brown's first one-person museum exhibition in the U.S. – an exhibition that later travelled to the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston
as well).
Cecily Brown is the daughter of Shena Mackay
, the Booker-shortlisted novelist, and David Sylvester
, one of Britain's leading art critics. She is married to Nicolai Ouroussoff
, the New York Times
architecture critic. Brown was previously engaged to New York-based British artist Adam McEwen.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
painter. She has a great respect for art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and her works reveal her reverence and high regard for artists such as Francisco de Goya, Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
, Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, and Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...
while incorporating into her works her distinct female view point.
Life and work
Cecily Brown studied B-TEC Diploma in Art and Design at Epsom School of Art, SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England (1985–1987), drawing and printmaking classes, Morley College
Morley College
Morley College is an adult education college in London, England. It was founded in the 1880s and has a student population of 10,806 adult students...
, London, 1987–1989, and BA in Fine Arts, Slade School of Art, London (1989–93).
Brown’s work has appeared at the Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
2004 in New York, The Triumph of Painting at the Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
, London and “Greater New York” at P.S. 1, New York. She has exhibited at galleries and museums including Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, MACRO in Rome and Museum der Moderna, Salzburg. She is represented by Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. There are currently eleven gallery spaces: three in New York; two in London; one in each of Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and Moscow.-1980s:...
.
Cecily Brown’s paintings combine figuration and abstraction
Abstraction
Abstraction is a process by which higher concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts, first principles, or other methods....
. Expanding the tradition of abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, she draws her influences from painters such as Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
. Her paintings also recall the works of Philip Guston
Philip Guston
Philip Guston was a notable painter and printmaker in the New York School, which included many of the Abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning...
and the Bay Area Figurative School
Bay Area Figurative School
The Bay Area Figurative Movement was a mid-20th Century art movement made up of a group of artists in the San Francisco Bay Area who abandoned working in the prevailing style of Abstract Expressionism in favor of a return to figuration in painting during...
of the 1950s and 1960s. Brown often titles her paintings after classic Hollywood films, such as The Pyjama Game, The bedtime story and The Fugitive Kind.
Brown's work has attracted the attention of collectors including Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Michael Ovitz
Michael Ovitz
Michael S. Ovitz is an American talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as President of the Walt Disney Company from October 1995 to January 1997....
. She has become known for her painting style suggestive of abstract and abstract expressionist painters such as de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
and Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.-Biography:...
. Sexuality and attraction are important themes in her work, which she explores through semi-figurative and abstract means. Her paintings are in the permanent collections of several important museums and institutions including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
, in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and the Des Moines Art Center
Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is an art museum with an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, modern art and mixed media. It was established in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa.-Description:...
, in Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
(in 2006 the Des Moines Art Center organized Brown's first one-person museum exhibition in the U.S. – an exhibition that later travelled to the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
as well).
Cecily Brown is the daughter of Shena Mackay
Shena Mackay
Shena Mackay FRSL , is a Scottish novelist born in Edinburgh. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1996 for The Orchard on Fire.-Biography:...
, the Booker-shortlisted novelist, and David Sylvester
David Sylvester
Anthony David Bernard Sylvester CBE, was a British art critic and curator. Although he received no formal education in the arts, during his long career he was influential in promoting modern artists, in particular the work of Joan Miró, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.Born into a well connected...
, one of Britain's leading art critics. She is married to Nicolai Ouroussoff
Nicolai Ouroussoff
Nicolai Ouroussoff is the architecture critic for The New York Times.-Biography:Born in Boston, Massachusetts United States, he received a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Georgetown University and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of ArchitectureThe protégé of the...
, the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
architecture critic. Brown was previously engaged to New York-based British artist Adam McEwen.
External links
- Cecily Brown - Painting - Saatchi Gallery
- Cecily Brown at Gagosian Gallery
- www.albrightknox.org/acquisitions/acq_2000/Brown.html accessed online June 1, 2007
- www.artcritical.com/DavidCohen/SUN89.htm review accessed online June 1, 2007