June 29 – July 30, 2022
Passing Notes presented hyperrealistic oil paintings that created strange, unintelligible narratives framed within natural phenomena, sharing just enough of their subjects to propel the viewer to want to know more.
Passing Notes: New Works by Brian Brown opened at VillageOneArt on June 29, 2022, with an opening reception on the evening of Thursday, July 7. The exhibition presented paintings from the preceding two years that created subtle mystery and a sense of fantasy. These hyperrealistic oil paintings created strange, unintelligible narratives framed within natural phenomena, such as a presumed family portrait in a space station, a young boy in an amusement park airplane, and an eerie light illuminating a rocky outcropping. Brown shares just enough of his subjects to propel the viewer to want to know more about the composition they encounter.
Brown’s piquant and insouciant painting style lends a familiar yet unsettled air to his artworks. His formal style contains hints of David Hockney, Alex Katz, and even Leonora Carrington in the bizarre yet realistic perspective presented in these paintings. None of the works were what they seemed, even the seemingly straightforward portraits on view, such as Passing Notes and What is a Straight Line. Brown’s paintings approach the viewer directly, borrowing from the lexicon of the normal and expected before subverting the viewer’s anticipation into new, often idiosyncratic, at times grotesque, visions.
Works in the Exhibition
Passing Notes was on view at VillageOneArt, 150 West 25th Street, Suite 403, New York, from June 29 to July 30, 2022. For inquiries regarding available works by Brian Brown, please contact info@villageoneart.com.