Dean Brown

BORN 1981 Sydney, Australia
Lives and works in Sydney, Australia

Dean Brown is a Sydney based painter and printmaker known for his formal rendering of figures and objects that contain a characteristic stillness and speak to moments in time.

In Brown’s paintings, there are two central components: the form and its shadow. Like a sundial, the shadow is cast onto vacant space and endows presence and drama onto the subject, creating a noir-like theatricality unique to still life painting.

Brown’s works are bold but they realise time in a way that is steady and quiet. Every angle is regarded, each striking colour (when colour appears) is carefully selected, and the body parts are fitted together like pieces to an anatomical puzzle. Shrouded in stillness and anonymity Browns paintings contain both a familiar and enigmatic quality. His highlighted silhouettes seem to be having an existential encounter with the nothingness that surrounds them compelling us to speculate on who they are and where they are going. The still life’s depicting glasses, bowls, and fruits enveloped in rich vibrant hues set against a seemingly paired-back background evoke a similar kind of intrigue in the everyday. But while the works are meditatively formulated, diffusing calmness and tranquillity, they also exude dynamism. The aluminium surface emboldens the fluidity of each mark allowing it to swiftly glide over the smooth plain without interruption. The artist’s defined use of line accentuates the geometry of each object.

With his patient eye and laboured handwork rendering humble everyday pursuits, objects, and commutes, Brown points to the stoic grace in the act of living day-to-day. By pausing on simple occasions he shows us life does not need to be extraordinary to have meaning, each second is serene and every action has weight.

Brown has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours at the National Art School. He also holds a Diploma of Design, TAFE, Sydney, and from 2000-07 studied Classical drawing and painting at the Julian Ashton Art School Sydney. Brown’s work has been included in solo and group exhibitions in Australia and internationally. He has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize, Australian Print Triennial Prize, Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award, Mosman Art Prize and the Burnie Print Prize. He was awarded the Storrier Onslow National Art School Paris Studio Residency at Cite International des Arts, Paris in 2011.

STUDIES
1999 Diploma of Design, TAFE, Sydney
2000-07 Classical drawing & painting, Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney
2005-07 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Printmaking), National Art School, Sydney
2008 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours), National Art School, Sydney

Background

Painter and printmaker Dean’s work explores themes of individuality and alienation by depicting commuting urban figures removed from their larger group context.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2011 ‘Drive On’, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2012 ‘Reload – Contemporary Landscape’, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW
2011 Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA
‘large exhibition of small works’, Australian Galleries, Roylston Street, Sydney
‘large exhibition of small works’, Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne
Stan and Maureen Duke Art Prize, Gold Coast, QLD
2010 ‘Passage and Transmission’, National Art School Graduate Award Exhibition,
Australian Galleries, Glenmore Road, Sydney
2008 ‘Watch this space’, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Honours Graduate Exhibition, National Art School, Sydney
The Alice Prize, Alice Springs Art Foundation, Alice Springs, NT
Port Jackson Press Graduate Printmaking Award, Port Jackson Press, Melbourne
2007 Graduate Exhibition, National Art School, Sydney
Stella Downer Printmaking Prize, National Art School Sydney
Capitals Project, Seoul, Korea
Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Awards, Centrehouse, Sydney
2006 Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney
2005 Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney
2004 Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney

AWARDS

2011 Storrier Onslow National Art School Paris Studio Residency (Winner), Cité International des Arts, Paris, France
2008 Australian Galleries Graduate Award (Winner), National Art School, Sydney
2007 Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Awards (Highly Commended), Centrehouse, Sydney

PUBLICATIONS

Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, March 13-14 2010