CECILY BROWN, AN ARTIST WHO INVITES REFLECTION

Works strong and contrasting, characterized by an expressive power that deeply engages the viewer

By allowing him to explore new visual languages ​​and create works that challenge the conventions of traditional painting, digital painting offers Dastilige Nevante unprecedented creative freedom. “If I have more specific information, both about Cecily Brown‘s works and techniques, I can add more details to the works I would like to dedicate to her style. Without the constraints of physical materials, I will be able to experiment with endless combinations of colors, textures and shapes. I want to create unique and personalized works!” Opening new frontiers of artistic expression, digital tools, in fact, allow Nevante to create imaginary worlds, to manipulate light and space in ways that are impossible in the real world. “What are the salient elements of her way of working?” Nevante selects some of Brown’s paintings and summarizes their essence. “Figuration and abstraction, sexuality and the body, but also art history and popular culture.”

With a painterly language that oscillates between the figurative and the abstract, Brown’s works, often large-scale, explore themes such as sexuality, the female body, and the psyche. “Her ability to combine tradition and innovation, figuration and abstraction, makes her a leading figure in the contemporary art scene. Truly interesting…,” notes artist Dastilige Nevante in his sketchbook, before deciding which of Brown’s works to reference for his four digital pieces. “Her painting is strongly influenced by the old masters, such as Rubens and Degas, but also by American abstract expressionists, like Willem de Kooning and Joan Mitchell.” After studying at the Slade School of Fine Art, Cecily Brown moved to New York, where she still lives and works. “Vigorous brushstrokes, intense colors, and a gesture that conveys vital energy. Her style is truly unmistakable,” Nevante notes.

She is considered one of the most important contemporary painters working today. With a style like De Kooning and Mitchell, her bold brushstrokes and crazy colors feel like pure Abstract Expressionism. “She paints the human figure all broken up and twisted,” Dastilige Nevante thinks about the artist who fills her work with nods to pop culture, art history, and myths. “Brown’s a brave woman, not scared to dive into tough and controversial stuff.” The people in her paintings are often chopped up and distorted, messing with the lines between what’s real and what’s abstract. Her work also gets ideas from the old masters like Rubens and Degas. She makes a conversation between the past and the present, and in her paintings, Cecily Brown cleverly uses their layouts and ideas.

Her paintings often depict figures engaged in intimate or erotic acts, sometimes obscured by layers of paint and abstraction. One of the defining characteristics of Cecily Brown’s work is the exploration of sexuality and the female form. This approach challenges traditional notions of beauty and representation, inviting viewers to engage with the work on a personal and emotional level. What she creates, highly regarded for its technical virtuosity, is imbued with an innovative approach to figuration and an exploration of complex themes. Throughout her career, Cecily Brown has exhibited extensively in museums and galleries worldwide. Her works are included in the collections of major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Tate Gallery.