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 executed 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 and changing figure–ground relationships.
Exhibitions
American Abstract Artists
Sept 2 – 27, 2008
The Painting Center
52 Greene Street
New York, NY 10013
Located in Soho between Broome and Grand Streets
Tues – Sat, 11–6
212–343–1060
thepaintingcenter.org
Henry Brown’s work will be included in a group exhibition for American Abstract Artists at The Painting Center. The show is dedicated to Esphyr Slobodkina (1908–2002), a founding member of AAA, who maintained a lifelong and active involvement with the organization. The exhibition celebrates the continuity of American Abstract Artists.
AAA was formed in 1936 to promote the exposure and understanding of abstract and non–objective art. To date American Abstract Artists has organized over 75 exhibitions of its membership in museums and galleries across the United States. AAA produces member print portfolios, catalogues and an AAA Journal. It distributes published materials internationally to cultural organizations, documents member history in the Archives of American Art, and hosts critical panels and symposia.
Upcoming Exhibitions and Recent News
News About the Artist – upcoming group show at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, recent traveling exhibition Machine Learning and catalog, press in ArtsHouston and The New York Sun, and KUHF Houston Public Radio Interview.