Using a diverse vernacular of sources, from comics to film noir, Roger Brown (1941–1997) created paintings and objects that addressed such themes as the urban landscape, natural disasters, religion, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Although he resisted labels, Brown is often associated with the Chicago imagists, a loosely connected group of young, irreverent artists who, beginning in the late 1960s, rejected the austerity of abstract expressionism and embraced figuration, stylization, and popular culture. While Brown’s work evolved over the decades, his style is noteworthy for its rigid compositional structuring, repeated patterning, and recurrent motifs.
Source: Kavi Gupta Gallery, Venus Over Manhattan
