Joan Brown, Year of the Tiger (1983). Oil and enamel on canvas. 183 x 304 cm. Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Exhibition view: Joan Brown, Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles (27 January–6 April 2024). Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Joan Brown, Noel at His Desk with Mickey the Cat (1972). Enamel on Masonite. 183 x 122 cm. Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Joan Brown, Charlie Sava + Friends (Rembrandt + Goya) (1973). Enamel on canvas. 244 x 183 cm. Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Exhibition view: Joan Brown, Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles (27 January–6 April 2024). Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Joan Brown, Joan + Donald (1982). Oil and enamel on canvas. 183 x 152 cm. Exhibition view: Joan Brown, Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles (27 January–6 April 2024). Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Joan Brown, The End of the Affair (1977). Enamel on canvas. 198 x 244 cm. Exhibition view: Joan Brown, Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles (27 January–6 April 2024). Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Joan Brown, Accepting the "Key of Life" / The Initiation (1978). Oil on canvas. 198 x 243 cm. Exhibition view: Joan Brown, Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles (27 January–6 April 2024). Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles.
Joan Brown‘s works are like pages torn from a painterly journal.
In a flat, decorative style with a surrealist flair, Brown (1938–1990) employed minimal colour, line, and form to vividly capture moments from her life.
From self-portraits with her cat Donald, to depictions of her long-distance swimming coach Charlie Sava, the American artist obsessively painted what she knew.
‘I paint the human condition ... things we all experience, or think about, or dream about, or hope for,’ Brown said.
Her paintings feature family, friends, and animals, often surrounded by mystical symbols or astrological constellations. Her cartoon-like style reflects her desire to simplify figuration, while her larger-than-life canvases invite viewers to imagine themselves stepping into the paintings, in a gesture of inclusion.
Brown was a leading figure of the second generation of Bay Area Figuration, a San Francisco art movement that emphasised figuration, humour, and the autobiographical.
Her colourful paintings are currently on view at Matthew Marks Gallery‘s Los Angeles location for the exhibition, Joan Brown (27 January–6 April 2024), which coincides with this year’s Frieze Los Angeles.
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