New Sculptures: 2015

by Michael · May 1, 2015

Written by Michael G. Brown

new sculpture 2015′

‘The Great Charters’ 2015
Mixed Media
Placed side by side in the British Library, two very different sets of manuscripts tell of iconic moments in history; the 800 year old Magna Carta and the original penned lyrics of the Beatles. These documents have no particular relationship but their proximity suggests an equal historical importance. This intrigued me and prompted this set of sculptures of Britain’s most famous musicians of the 20th century, depicted as historical barons, using a combination of clay and marquetry. The style of their clothing was also a nod to their album cover for ‘Sergeant Pepper’s lonely hearts club band’, designed by artist Peter Blake.

‘The Proof of the Pudding’ 2015
Mixed Media
I was lucky enough to meet Mr Perry during the filming of his documentary series ‘Who am I?’, when he and his camera crew came to visit Mary Hare school for the deaf. I work as an artist in residence at the school and was once a pupil there. This particular episode was to centre around Perry’s observations of a deaf family who in turn inspired a piece of his art. My own work, ‘The proof of the pudding’, came from an immediate thought I had upon observing Grayson Perry, who also has a hearing impairment, taking a rather long time to commit to his choice of dessert from the school’s canteen. I liked the thought of capturing this little detail about him, just as he sought out the details of others lives for his own art.

‘The Proof Of The Pudding’ 2015, ‘The Great Charters’ 2015 Crank Clay, Portland Stone and Marquetry

‘Harry’

by Michael · November 8, 2014

Written by Michael G. Brown

new sculpture ‘Harry’

The sculpture was inspired by an iconic image of Harry patch at his last cenotaph visit. I had originally stumbled across this image in a magazine article on the legacy of WW1. Moved and also intrigued, I decided I should create a sculpture dedicated to this man who fought all of the Great War and was dubbed ‘the last fighting Tommy’.

My idea for the marquetry stemmed from an artist inspiration of mine, Wyndham Lewis, who himself was a War artist. It was also the profession of my Great Grandfather, whose sons fought in the Second World War. Wyndham Lewis’s style was almost fragmented, based loosely on industrialisation, whereas my Great Grandfather’s marquetry was very fragile and of extraordinary craftsmanship. Marquetry, I believe is very beautiful to look at and I wanted to combine the two styles.

I have purposely tilted the feet of the sculpture and specifically chiselled the stone to accommodate and support the sculpture when standing. Originally the photograph stemmed from the image of Harry Patch sitting in his wheel chair however, I wanted to depict him standing with the support of a War memorial-like plinth.

I specifically designed Harry Patch to be standing in a field of poppies, conveying the effects the War had on the rest of his life and also as a tribute to his fallen comrades; he certainly wouldn’t have lived on after the war, if it wasn’t for those friends he held most dear to him, fighting alongside him and paying the upmost sacrifice.

‘Harry’ 2014 Crank Clay, Portland Stone and Marquetry (Private Collection)

Modern Artists Gallery

by Michael · July 25, 2013

Press Release from Modern Artist’s Gallery. Written by Katie Newman, MA FineArt Valuation.

THE SILENT BUZZ SURROUNDING MICHAEL BROWN

It is refreshing to encounter an artist whose work is utterly unique in approach yet maintains an edgy and challenging content. It is particularly exciting when the artist is young and in the early stages of developing a technique which already displays great confidence in a variety of mediums. Modern Artists Gallery, Berkshire is currently staging a mini exhibition of the recently discovered young artist, Michael Brown and it is creating quite a buzz.

To be submerged in to the world of Michael Brown is both unsettling and comical. Using beeswax as his primary medium, Brown has created a group of work which cannot fail to engage his audience. The most powerful is ‘Hitcher’ loosely based on a homeless character whom the artist befriended. The paper-thin layers of wax are modelled to create a life-size bust which appears so fragile and yet resounds powerfully with the sitter’s melancholy story. A further wax bust entitled ‘Mo’ hints more strongly at the humour which runs through Brown’s work. The artists’s friend ‘Mo’ stares out at the viewer from behind large silver sunglasses in a challenging and slightly mocking manner. Inspired by the demise of the honey bee in the UK, ‘Honey I’m Doomed’ offers an intriguing piece of wall art which seems to bridge the often impossible divide between period and contemporary installation. A large honeycomb backdrop provides haven for tiny costumed figures precariously balanced and hanging on for dear life. One feels that this piece would seem at home in an 18th Century timbered cottage as in a minimal 21st Century environment.

The exhibition continues with a selection of drawings and collages by the artist. The layered mixed media collages depict ambiguous spaces, assembled with subtlety, to reveal the atmosphere of an experienced place, in traces of torn newspaper, faint figures, and delicate relief. These spaces reinvent themselves into an intriguing, almost dreamlike impression of a subconscious other-world. It is upon inspecting these that the viewer becomes more aware of this ‘other-world’ which occupies the artist and his work. It is unsurprising, at this point, to learn that Michael Brown is deaf.

His work has attracted a large number of commissions in the local area, but Michael Brown has yet to break in to the national and international art market, but is only a matter of time before word is spread about this talented and original young man. Perhaps the present exhibition of his work may be a springboard for the recognition he deserves.

‘The Silent Timepiece’ an exhibition of sculpture and paintings by Michael Brown will be on exhibition at Modern Artists Gallery from 14th March – 26th April 2011. Please contact the gallery for opening hours or see the website www.modernartistsgallery.com.

Source: Modern Artists Gallery.
Artist Details: Modern Artists Gallery.