This is the first solo museum show for Brown, who often recasts and conceals erotically charged scenes in her large-format, gestural abstractions.
Directions--Cecily Brown
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, second floor, Nov. 14,
2002 - March 2, 2003.
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.
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, open daily from 10 a.m. until
5:30 p.m., is located at Independence Avenue at Seventh Street S.W. By
Metrorail, take the L'Enfant Plaza Metro stop, Maryland Avenue exit.
Admission to the museum is free.
Kristen Hileman
Public Affairs Specialist
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
(202)357-1618
Hirshhorn Museum
Smithsonian Institution, Independence Ave. at Seventh St. SW DC 20560-0350 Washington
tel 202.357.2700