iona rozeal brown
October 24th - December 6th, 2008
Opening October 24th 2008, 6-8 pm
Goff + Rosenthal Berlin is pleased to present a series of new works by iona rozeal brown.
Exhibiting for the first time in Germany, iona rozeal brown's vivid paintings on panel and paper unite ostensibly dissimilar cultural reference points to create transfigured studies of African American hip-hop culture, appropriated and fetishized by Japanese subcultures.
brown's fascination with Japanese culture began in 1997 after reading Joe Wood's "The Yellow Negro"1, which introduced the alternative trend of ganguro. Drastically darkening their skin, young ganguro women imitate African American hip-hop acts, predominantly accessing imagery through music videos, the internet and popular magazines. It led to brown visiting Japan and researching this contemporary version of "blackfacers" or "white negroes"2 alongside traditional Japanese art such as ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the Edo period (17th-18th c.), in which she found similarities with "the fabulousness of contemporary "bling culture""3.
Resisting static or one-dimensional messages, brown takes this "floating world" (ukiyo-e), of ancient urban centers with geishas, bathhouse girls and decadence and melds it with the high fashion and celebration of material success apparent in hip-hop. Compromising depictions of women are an additional element in both of these distant mediums, while geishas and ganguro girls share the widespread tradition of masking and assuming identities within conservative Japanese societies, which brown succinctly combines in her works.
Furthering her exploration of society's obsession with material consumption, excess and vanity on a timeless, global level, brown's latest works examine the insecurities of individuals dependent on brands that feed their desires to feel socially accepted and self-confident while simultaneously obscuring their identity. In one of her panels, demons enticingly clutch at designer handbags in one hand and the throat of a black geisha in the other. Providing a critical lens, her works engage historic as well as contemporary concerns regarding race, culture and the complex interplay of “high” and “low” cultural tropes across multicultural lines.
A graduate of the Yale School of Art, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the San Francisco Art Institute, brown currently lives and works in Washington DC. She has had solo exhibitions at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Spelman College Museum of Art, along with group exhibitions at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, UCLA Hammer Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem. brown will have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit in 2010. Her work has been critically reviewed in Artforum, the New York Times, Washington Post, Artnet, FlashArt, Black Book, the Boston Globe, and Tema Celeste. brown’s work is in numerous public and private collections including Yale University, the New Museum, Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Norton Family Collection and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
1 Wood, Joe. "The Yellow Negro", Transition 73: 40-67.
2 See: Mailer, Norman. "The White Negro", IV Dissent, (Spring, 1957).
3 Interview with Jessica Lee in New American Paintings 76.
iona rozeal brown
24. Oktober – 6. Dezember 2008
Eröffnung 24. Oktober 2008, 18:00 – 20:00 Uhr
Goff + Rosenthal Berlin freut sich, eine Reihe von neuen Arbeiten von iona rozeal brown zu präsentieren.
iona rozeal browns kraftvolle Gemälde auf Tafeln und Papier werden zum ersten Mal in Deutschland ausgestellt. Sie vereinen scheinbar unterschiedliche kulturelle Bezugspunkte, um verwandelte Studien amerikanischer Hip-Hop-Kultur zu schaffen, wie sie von japanischen Subkulturen vereinnahmt und fetischisiert werden.
browns Faszination mit der japanischen Kultur begann mit ihrer Lektüre von John Woods „The Yellow Negro“1, ein Aufsatz, der den alternativen Trend des Ganguro vorstellt. Junge Ganguro-Frauen schminken sich die Haut sehr dunkel und imitieren afroamerikanische Hip-Hop-Aufführungen, deren Darstellungen sie vor allem aus Musikvideos, dem Internet und durch Zeitschriften kennen. brown besuchte Japan und erforschte diese zeitgenössische Version des Blackface oder „white negroes“ 2, wie auch traditionelle japanische Künste wie die Ukiyo-Holzschnitte aus der Edo-Zeit (17.-18. Jahrhundert), bei der sie Ähnlichkeiten mit dem „Fabelhaften, Glamourösen der heutigen Glitzerkultur“3 sah.
brown nimmt diese „fließende Welt“ (ukiyo-e) alter Städte mit ihren Geishas, Badehaus-Mädchen und ihrer Dekadenz und vermischt sie mit der Mode und der Verherrlichung materiellen Erfolgs, so typisch für Hip-Hop, und widersteht dabei statischen oder eindimensionalen Botschaften. Kompromittierende Darstellungen von Frauen sind ein weiteres gemeinsames Element dieser weit voneinander entfernten Medien, während Geishas und Gangura-Mädchen an der weit verbreiteten Tradition des Maskierens und Annehmens von Identitäten innerhalb konservativer japanischer Gesellschaften teilhaben. All dies verbindet brown auf prägnante Weise in ihren Arbeiten.
browns jüngste Arbeiten treiben ihre Erforschung der gesellschaftlichen Obsession mit materiellem Konsum, Exzess und Eitelkeit auf einer zeitlosen globalen Ebene weiter. brown untersucht dabei die Unsicherheiten von Individuen, die von Marken abhängig sind, die ihren Wunsch nach gesellschaftlicher Akzeptanz speisen und gleichzeitig ihre Identität verdecken. In einem ihrer Bilder greifen Dämonen verführerische Designerhandtaschen in der einen Hand, und die Kehle einer schwarzen Geisha in der anderen. Ihre Arbeiten dienen als kritische Linse, und sie setzen sich mit historischen wie auch zeitgenössischen Fragen wie Ethnizität, Kultur, und den komplexen Wechselspielen von hoch- und popkulturellen Tropen über multikulturelle Grenzen hinweg auseinander.
brown hat an der Yale School of Art, der Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture und dem San Francisco Art Institute studiert und lebt zur Zeit in Washington DC. Sie hatte Einzelausstellungen im Wadsworth Atheneum und im Spelman College Museum of Art, zudem hat sie an Gruppenausstellungen im Haus der Kulturen der Welt, UCLA Hammer Museum und dem Studio Museum in Harlem teilgenommen. 2010 werden ihrem Werk Einzelausstellungen im Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio und dem Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit gewidmet. Ihre Arbeit wurde in Artforum, der New York Times, Washington Post, Artnet, FlashArt, Black Book, dem Boston Globe und Tema Celeste besprochen. browns Arbeiten befinden sich in zahlreichen öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen wie der Yale University, New Museum, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Norton Family Collection und Studio Museum in Harlem.
1 Wood, Joe. "The Yellow Negro", Transition 73: 40-67.
2 See: Mailer, Norman. "The White Negro", IV Dissent, (Spring, 1957).
3 "the fabulousness of contemporary "bling culture", Interview with Jessica Lee in New American Paintings 76.
IONA ROZEAL BROWN
Born Washington, D.C., 1966
Lives and works in Maryland
EDUCATION
2002 M.F.A. Painting, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT.
1999 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME.
B.F.A., Painting, San Francisco Art Institute, Valedictorian, Dean’s Honor List
1996 Pratt Institute, Honor List, Brooklyn, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 MOCA Cleveland, OH
2008 Goff + Rosenthal Berlin, Germany (November)
2008 Solo Exhibition, VOLTA4: Voltany, Basel, Switzerland
2007 the epidemic of excess, the detriment of denial, Sandroni Rey, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Blending Lines, G Fine Art, Washington, DC
iona rozeal brown, University of Arizona, Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2004 a3 the revolution: televised, terrorized, sexualized, Caren Golden Fine Art, New York, NY
iona rozeal brown, Sandroni Rey, Los Angeles, CA
iona rozeal brown, G Fine Art, Washington, DC
Bling BlAsian Bling, (two person exhibition with Stella Lai), The Luggage Store, San Francisco, CA
Matrix 152, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
2003-4 a3…black on both sides, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA
2002 a3…black on both sides 2, Sandroni Rey, Venice, CA
a3…black on both sides 2, Caren Golden Fine Arts
2000 homecoming, Pavilion of Fine Arts, Takoma Park, MD.
1999 many faces, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1995 iona 101, Gallery Upstairs, Takoma Park, MD.
soul tapping, St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, Washington, DC.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS / SCREENINGS / PUBLICATIONS
2007 Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Von Lintel Gallery, Nov 29, 07 – Jan 20, 08, New York, NY
Haus der Kulturen der Welt New York States of Mind, Aug 24, 2007 – Nov 11, 2007, New York, NY
Japan, INC., Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
Iona Rozeal Brown and Zoe Charlton Lecture at the Hirshhorn Museum February 2, 2007
2006 Paper Trail: African American Works on Paper, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
When the East is in the House: iona rozeal brown and Stella Lai, Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta, GA Compliciit, curated by Johanna Drucker, Andrea Douglas and Jill Hartz, University of
Virginia Museum of Art, Charlottesville, VA
Three Decades of Contemporary Art from San Francisco Art Institute, Walter & McBean
Galleries, San Francisco Art Institute
Stereotypes: Confronting Cliches, curated by June Lambia, McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC
2005 Linkages and Themes in the African Diaspora, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA
2004 Notorious Impropriety, curated with Franklin Sirmans, Samson Projects, Boston, MA
New Visions: Emerging trends in African American Art, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum
and Center for African American History and Culture, Washington, DC
2003 Pop Rocks, curated by Daria Brit, shapiro & caren golden, Caren Golden Fine Art, New york, NY
Black Belt, (Curated by Christine Kim) Studio Museum of Harlem, NY
Online, curated by Charlie Finch and Robert Storr, Feigen Gallery, NY
International Paper, Armand Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Americas Remix, curated by Franklin Sermans, Comune de Milano, Milan, Italy
2002 Champion, curated by Sheldon LaPierre, Zinc Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT.
2001 FFWD Contemporary Art Fair, Hotel Nash, curated by Franklin Sirmans, Miami Beach, FL.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS / SCREENINGS / PUBLICATIONS cont.
1999 Frenzy: Artist’s Initiated Auction and Art Sale to Benefit the Luggage Store Gallery/509
Cultural Center, The Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Future Shock: New Langton Arts’ Live and Silent Auction, New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA.
Skowhegan Film Festival, Skowhegan, ME.
B.F.A. Show 1999, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute.
Radical Performance Fest, Somart Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Zyzzyva in Black and White, curated by Naomie Kramer and Howard Junker, Diego Rivera
Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Zyzzyva, the journal of west coast writers and artists, Black and White Series, curated by Naomie Kramer and Howard Junker.
1998 Ultra Down, The Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Afro Solo, Z Space Studio, San Francisco, CA.
Portraiture, The Abstract Zone, Emeryville, CA.
Busted, Crucible Cell Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Annual Juried Luggage Show, The Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Bill Berksen,
San Francisco, CA.
GRANTS / AWARDS
2007 Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, New York, NY
Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant, New York, NY
Richard C. Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship, San Francisco Art Institute
2004 Matrix Artist, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
2003 United States/Japan Creative Artists Program
2002 Blair Dickinson Award, Yale University.
2001 Schickle-Collingwood Prize, Yale University.
1999 Camile Hanks Cosby Fellowship, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
1998-9 Honor Student Painting Studio, San Francisco Art Institute.
Supplemental Art Materials Award, San Francisco Art Institute.
1997-9 Merit Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute.
Student Grant, San Francisco Art Institute.
1996-7 Merit Scholarship, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY.
Presidential Grant, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY.
1995-4 Women’s Community Art Award, Montgomery County Community College, Takoma Park, MD.
COLLECTIONS
Altoids Curiously Strong Art Collection
Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2007 Merali, Shaheen. “Haus der Kulturen der Welt: New York – States of Mind,” Exhibition and Film Programme, 28.08.2007-04.11.2007
Buckley, iona rozeal brown, Artforum.com, June 30, 2007
“iona rozeal brown: still exploring and unlikely pairing,” Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2007
2004 Genocchio, Benjamin. “Iona Rozeal Brown, Wadswoth Ateneum Museum of Art,” New York Times, April 4
Palumbo, Mary Jo. “Artist’s Japanese-styleprints add new translation to hip-hop,” Boston Herald, April 10
2003 “Biters of Style” Trace. May 2003
Knight, Christopher. “Richly drawn from drawings” Los Angeles Times, March 2003
Koppman, Debra. “International Paper” Previews. February 2003.
Mathis, Sommer. “Paper Trail, Global Culture Lends Contemporary Exhibit Wide Speectrum
of Artistic Creations, Bringing New Life To Fiber As a Medium,” Daily Bruin, January 2003.
Brown, Iona Rozeal. “Self-Portrait,” Tema Celeste, January/February 2003.
2002 “Intelligent Work Forges Links,” Los Angeles Times, October 2002.
ones, Rose Apodaca. “Gangsta Geisha,” Women’s Wear Daily, September 2002.
Smith, Roberta. “Roland Flexner Iona Rozeal Brown,” New York Times, October 2002
|
