Artist Janine Brown cooking biodegradable plastics in her studio, photo by Maria Markham; Marital Constraints, homemade biorubber, artist’s financial statements, crochet thread, artist’s and artist’s mother’s wedding dress; No Way Out, homemade biorubber, U.S. currency residue, financial statements, crochet thread.NEW CANAAN, CT, May 23, 2024—Silvermine Galleries presents a solo exhibition by a versatile artist whose recent work includes composite materials of her own making, stitched together and sculpted to critique myths of the domestic space, women, and capitalism. Janine Brown’s Patterns and Pieces: Recipes of Home runs from May 25 to July 11. The opening reception takes place on Sat., June 8, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Brown brings to her work an autobiographical element and an interest in symbolic composites. “My work is informed by a curiosity about materials, as well as my experience as a fashion designer, wife, and mother from the rural Midwest. I explore the identity of people, places, and things, through sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, video, and installation art. The history of the home economics movement informs my current body of work. Started in 1899, the movement used science as a basis for female-led innovation in the home, a process I replicate in my studio. Using kitchen chemistry, I cook biodegradable plastic and rubber composites that encapsulate kitchen leftovers, family financial statements, U.S. currency, and flowers.” The composites are used to create objects “freed” from their domestic uses.
Brown’s career encompasses a wide repertoire of work from representational to abstract. She writes, “The medium and style that I use to visually communicate my ideas change based on what I feel will best communicate my thoughts. Regardless of the medium, each work has a personal story behind it.”
Born in Iowa, Brown graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA and from the Fashion Institute of Technology with an associate degree in Applied Science in Fashion Design. She also holds an MBA from the Stern School at New York University, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. She is a member of The Artists Collective of Westport, the Silvermine Guild of Artists, and the Los Angeles Art Association. She resides in Fairfield, Connecticut, and maintains a studio in Bridgeport.
Brown’s award-winning artwork has been exhibited in solo shows at the Moorpark College Art Gallery, Moorpark, California; Gallery 825, West Hollywood, California; and the Westport Arts Center in Westport, Connecticut. In addition, her work has been selected for numerous group exhibitions, which include Tra 2 Mari at the Museo Area Archeologica Arte Contemporanea, Cisternino, Italy; TenWomen at Marie Baldwin Gallery, Los Angeles; Flower (re)Power at the Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport; How We See Her at the Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, Missouri; and Abstract and Geometric at the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago.
Patterns and Pieces: Recipes of Home runs concurrently with Metamorphosis: The Changing Landscape. Both exhibitions run through July 11 at Silvermine.
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