Seven sensuous abstract paintings by London-born, New York-based artist
Cecily Brown (b. 1969) are featured in "Directions--Cecily Brown" at the
Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. This is the first solo museum show for Brown, who often recasts and
conceals erotically charged scenes in her large-format, gestural
abstractions.
Among the works that will be on view are the
never-before-exhibited "Dogday Afternoon," 1999, in which the artist's body
markings are part of the composition; "Bacchanal," 2001, exemplifying
Brown's recent investigations into landscape; and an untitled work from
1997, in which rabbits, standing in for human figures, barely emerge from
brushstrokes of color.
Pursuing subjects that hark back to Old Master painters, as well as
Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1950s, the artist breaths new life into
the styles and themes of such mid-20th-century figurative expressionists as
Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon. Brown creates a provocative tension
between the bold formal qualities of her canvases and the intimate
figurative content hidden beneath their abstract layers.
Brown will speak about her work in a "Meet the Artist" talk on Nov. 14, at
12:30 p.m. in the Directions Gallery, third floor. The show is organized by
Judith Zilczer, curator of paintings, who will discuss "Cecily Brown and the
Romance of Painting" in a gallery talk on Feb. 14, 2003, at 12:30 p.m.
Accompanied by a free, full-color brochure, the exhibition is made possible
through the generosity of Trellis Fund and contributions to the Hirshhorn's
Annual Circle with additional support from Olga Hirshhorn.
IMAGE:
Cecily Brown
Bacchanal, 2001
Private Collection, New York
Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York
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