Joan Brown: The Affair

During May and June, George Adams Gallery will present paintings by JOAN BROWN. The exhibition focuses on a series of seven large-scale paintings she made following a trip to Italy in the summer of 1976, four of which are included here. Painted in the artist's customary style with quickly sketched lines, simplified forms and flat planes of color, the paintings depict the course of a romantic relationship.

For example, The Departure (1976) shows a woman (the artist) and her lover about to embark on a plane. Seen against a plain red background, his simple outline in black and white sharply contrasts with her bejeweled blue evening gown. In The Kiss (1976) a couple are seen from a discrete distance in a passionate embrace; despite the economy of detail, it is possible to recognize the setting as Cinque Terre, and the female figure as the artist herself. The Last Day of Summer (1976) shows the artist flirting with Michelangelo's David while her unseen suitor extends a glass of wine. The carefree image suggests the joy and unconstrained nature of the relationship, and stands in marked contrast to the more somber The End of the Affair (1977) in which the artist is shown seated on a bed while the shadowy figure of a man dresses in front of a mirror.


Exhibition Checklist

1. The Departure, 1976
enamel on canvas
84 x 72 inches
JBRp 62

2. The Kiss, 1976
enamel on canvas
78 x 96 inches
JBRp 54

3. The Last Day of Summer, 1976
enamel on canvas
84 x 72 inches
JBRp 60

4. The End of the Affair, 1977
enamel on canvas
78 3/4 x 96 3/4 inches
JBRp 64

5. Woman Waiting in a Theater Lobby, 1975
enamel on canvas
70 x 90 inches
JBRp  63

6. Smoker, 1973
cardboard, oil enamel, wire, string, and stone bead
21 1/2 x 16 x 8 1/4 inches
JBRs 3