About Henry Brown

Biography

Henry Brown is an abstract painter based in New York, NY. His work is characterized by stark simplicity and the interplay of flat compass-and-ruler geometry with illusionistic space. The visible process and perceptual shifts in depth distinguish his work. Brown’s paintings are grounded in a downtown New York City lineage of abstract art and an ethos of artistic independence. He belongs to a contemporary resurgence of geometric abstract painting that emerged in the city beginning in the 1990s.

Henry Brown’s exhibitions and curatorial projects have contributed to the broader discourse on abstract art. His reputation has developed through critical engagement, institutional exhibitions, residencies, and peer recognition, placing him within a tradition of rigorous abstract art that values both intellectual and material inquiry.

Brown’s paintings have been shown widely in the United States. Notable institutional exhibitions include MoMA PS 1 in Queens, NY; Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL; and Dishman Art Gallery, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX.

In New York City, Henry Brown’s paintings have been exhibited at 1285 Avenue of the Americas Gallery; Shirley Fiterman Art Center; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY; Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College; Ventana244 Art Space; White Columns; and Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College.

Internationally his work has been exhibited by Art in Embassies of the U.S. Department of State exhibited at ASEAN, Jakarta, Indonesia; in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands; and Juba, Republic of South Sudan, Africa. European venues include ParisCONCRET in Paris, France; and Galerie oqbo in Berlin, Germany.

Henry Brown has been award prestigious artist residencies at Yaddo (three times), MacDowell, and Millay Arts. Houston Public Radio KUHF’s The Front Row interviewed Brown, about a traveling exhibition curated by Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY, during its run at Gallery Sonja Roesch, Houston, TX.

He has curated several large exhibitions, including a 38-artist show at Westbeth Gallery, New York City and a 24-artist show at Crush Curatorial (now Hesse Flatow East), in the Hamptons on Long Island, NY.

henrybrown.com

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Short Bio

Henry Brown is an abstract painter based in New York City. His geometric images, constructed from compass-and-ruler underdrawings, activate perception through changing spatial relationships. Henry Brown’s artwork has been exhibited at MoMA PS1, Queens, NY; Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; and Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL. His awards include artist residencies at Yaddo (three times), MacDowell, and Millay Arts. www.henrybrown.com

Geometric Abstract Painting and Drawing

Notes on Painting discusses Henry Brown’s abstract paintings, drawings, and methodology. Brown forms his geometric and pattern-based images from drawings constructed on the white ground of the canvas. He paints each image with flat color and hard edges, leaving portions of the underlying drawing and ground exposed as pictorial elements in the finished work. The underdrawing reveals a narrative of the painting’s substructure, planning and execution. Brown establishes a relationship between making and seeing, in which the painting process is part of the viewing experience.

Curatorial

Henry Brown has curated several exhibitions of contemporary abstract art. Beyond Black and White was an exhibition of black and white based work that went past the limits of these two colors. It was held at Westbeth Gallery in Greenwich Village, New York City. Territory included abstract artists with ties to the East End of Long Island. It took place at Crush Curatorial (now Hesse Flatow East), Amagansett, in the Hamptons on Long Island, NY. Both large-scale exhibitions brought together an extensive group of artists exploring abstract art in distinct ways.

Links

Selected art-related websites provide further context for Henry Brown’s work. The links are to artist residencies, nonprofit exhibition spaces, Art in Embassies of the U.S. Department of State, and art-writing platforms.