Brown’s pursuit of painting in and of itself was a little radical when she broke out in the ‘90s. Irony ruled the "boys’ club" New York art scene, and oil paintings were often viewed as overly earnest.
“I really tried not to be a painter,” Brown tells the Observer. “It was a whole process to accept that not was I a painter, but that I was an oil painter. [...] I think the kind of artist you are is kind of like the sound of your voice. It’s not something you can really change. It’s who you are.”
At the media preview for Themes and Variations on Thursday, guests were treated to a guided tour of the exhibition from Brown herself. Her commentary was lively and passionate, and we frequently bounced around the gallery to follow her train of thought.
Besides illuminating, the tour was also wickedly funny. Brown called penises “a fabulous symbol” while discussing her erotically charged work, and she admitted that many of the figures in her paintings are inspired by or even lifted from other artists. She considers it a part of taking in a piece of art.
“I copy all the time,” she told the crowd. “In order to process something, I have to draw it.”
While talking about the ambiguous way female forms are depicted in her work, with some images appearing tender while others almost brutal, she mused that supporting female empowerment doesn’t necessarily mean liking all women. Some women, after all, are terrible people.
“I think the Kardashians have ruined the world,” she said, before pausing and seemingly processing what she had just said in a room full of press. “God, I hope Kim doesn’t come after me.”
As spontaneous as Brown’s presentation of her work was, she believes that the DMA’s curators have set it up in an ideal order for museum guests.
“You start with 'High Society,' the first painting on your right,” she tells us, referring to the first room in the exhibition, where the 1998 painting hangs opposite 2019’s 'Saboteur Four Times.' “It would be the most logical to end in that realm. Do a big circle.”
Of course, she also encourages wandering around aimlessly for those who prefer it.
“I love the idea of following your instinct,” she says. “That’s usually how I look at a show. What’s calling to me?”
The exhibition represents a wide array of muses Brown has chased over the years. Human figures, animal figures and shipwrecks line the walls of DMA and are cohesive, thanks to her unique voice.
Brown tells us that the next chapter of her career leans toward a more direct, illustrative style. This can be seen in the most recent works in the gallery, which favor more distinct, clear-cut imagery.
“The radical thing that I’ve just started doing is putting in shadows,” she says. “That’s changing the way things look a lot.”
She’s also started “responding” to her work in the same manner she’s drawn inspiration from others. Exhibitions such as the one at the DMA have allowed her to see some of her paintings for the first time in years, and this fresh perspective has been inspiring.
“That’s why Themes and Variations seemed a very fitting title for where I am right now,” she says. “There is this kind of self-examination going on.”
Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations presents 30 works representing the artist's 30-year career.
Carly May Gravley
