James Andrew Brown: From The Heart

I'm going to write from the heart because that was where it hit me when I first laid my eyes on James Andrew Brown's paintings. This explication is not going to be a typical press release or exhibit statement; I'll be addressing the raw power presented in Brown's artwork by sharing my story.

Detour Gallery has now been open for three years and what a trip it has been. I joined the ship early. In the beginning, when the opportunity of working for Detour presented itself to me, it was not so much the people I was going to work with, or who I was going to work for that was exciting, it was the work of James Andrew Brown. I knew I was about to experience something genuinely masterful, and I couldn't wait to start digging through the collection of large homemade folders holding several works on paper.

What I found was a raw assemblage consisting of energetic brush strokes and collages, congregated by mediums, I can't wholly recognize, all compounded into a perfect story that I still feel in my spine. The message is clear, family and culture, all squeezed in tight. As an African-American artist, it is apparent that Brown deals with race, but not in a way that displays the paintings as a protest, or directing it at people and their prejudices. It seems more like it is addressed to our directions, as a human culture, to suppress the topic of race and avoid its delicacy. We live in a duplicitous world, but Brown's message is direct and blunt, which makes his work uniquely important now.

With that, I cordially invite you to the opening reception at Detour Gallery showing the extraordinary paintings by James Andrew Brown on Saturday, September 7th, 6 PM.

It would be amazing to see you, and I can't wait to hear what you think of James Andrew Brown's artwork.

x Rune