About the Artist
Paintings
Henry Brown’s paintings are mechanically drawn geometric abstractions. He forms his imagery from structural schematics constructed with compass and ruler. The schematics are developed from small sketches and then drawn directly on the gessoed canvases. Henry Brown paints the images, but leaves the underdrawings visible to show the substructure, planning and execution of his artwork.
The artist uses mechanical drafting techniques and paints with flat unmodulated color. Yet Henry Brown retains a handmade quality in his artwork, seen in the knifed finish of the gessoed layers, variations in pencil lines and eccentricities of the painted edges.
His imagery appears to be fixed spatially, but visual perception triggers sensations of movement. Depth shifts as surfaces advance and recede. Henry Brown animates the surfaces of his abstract paintings with systems of perspective, dynamic structures, and changing figure-ground relationships.
Banned in D.C.
Strata 2012
Ventana244 Art Space
244 N 6th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
April 12 – May 24, 2013
Henry Brown, Lori Ellison, Avis Fleming, Robert Franklin Gates, Cynthia Bickley-Green, Colin Greenly, Dan Yellow Kuhne, Alix Lambert, Chris Martin, Ed McGowin, Howard Mehring, Paul Reed, Charlotte Robinson, Robin Rose, Eric Rudd, Roy Slade, Carroll Sockwell, Melissa Staiger, Robert Swain, Joan Waltemath, Thornton Willis, Ed Zerne
This exhibition includes the work of twenty-two artists whose connections with the Washington D.C./Baltimore art scene are multifaceted. A supplementary component of this exhibition is a selection of documentation on the Washington/Baltimore art scene from 1949-2012.
Working It Out
The Painting Center
547 West 27th Street, Suite 500
New York, NY 10001
June 18 – July 26, 2013
Artists of all disciplines begin their creative process with preparatory drawings. This enables visual problem solving throughout the execution of an artwork that is both fluid and beautiful. Drawing can be an exploration of materials, mark making, the emotional tenor of a piece, compositional arrangements or color. Working drawings are the visual manifestation of a work in progress; a working idea. Typically, this work is not seen by the public. These are private musings that refl ect thought processes. They are, by de finition, incomplete. This exhibition will allow the viewer to see the private world of the artist’s creative process.
American Abstract Artists 75th Anniversary Print Portfolio
Limitless 2012
Henry Brown contributed a print to the American Abstract Artists 75th Anniversary Print Portfolio.
The AAA 75th Anniversary Print Portfolio is comprised of 9.75 x 12.75 inch digital prints. The edition size is 75 prints, one printer’s proof and 10 artist’s proofs. It was printed by SupremeDigital in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY using Epson UltraChrome K3 pigment inks and Epson Hot Pressed Natural and Epson Cold Pressed Natural paper.
This Print Portfolio is the fourth edition of prints by American Abstract Artists. American Abstract Artists Print Portfolios are held in museum and university collections internationally.
AAA 75th Anniversary Print Portfolio Exhibitions
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
10 Vernon Street
Brattleboro, VT
June 28 – October 20th, 2013
AAA 2012 Print Portfolio
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, TN
Forthcoming
Recent Exhibits and Residencies
News About Henry Brown: recent exhibitions include ABSTRACTION∞ at The Icebox and Grey Area at Crane Arts in Philadelphia, PA; American Abstract Artists 75th Anniversary at OK Harris in NYC and also at ParisCONCRET in Paris France; The Big Show 6 at Silas Marder Gallery in Bridgehampton, Long Island, NY; and American Abstract Artists / 75th Anniversary at Galerie oqbo and Deutscher Künstlerbund in Berlin, Germany. He was also awarded a residency at Yaddo for 2011.