EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 25, 2018) – The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon will showcase eight works by contemporary master Glenn Brown in a new exhibition “Transmutations/Glenn Brown: What’s Old is New Again.” On view in the MacKinnon Gallery of European Art through August 19, 2018, the exhitbion marks the first time the JSMA has collaborated closely with Masterworks lenders to showcase the work of a single artist.
“Glenn Brown is a perfect artist for this project as his work is imbued with a deep and keen understanding of art history and art making,” says Jill Hartz, JSMA Executive Director. We might call him an academic artist. You can tell that he loves materials—pencil, paint, brushes—and that he respects and admires such artists as Rembrandt and Tiepolo from whom he takes inspiration.”
The exhitbion is drawn from the Peterson Family Collection, with an additional loan from Emilia and Tad Buchanan and together, the selected works provide a cohesive sampling of Glenn Brown’s diverse oeuvre.
Seven of the chosen works highlight the paintings and drawings that comprise the majority of Brown’s output, alternating between direct and opaque references to masters of the Renaissance through the nineteenth century. Merging the mediums of drawing and painting, these pieces provide a window into Brown’s creative process and attention toward art historical conversations on brushwork and surface.
A single sculpture completes the exhibition, demonstrating the compelling means by which Brown adapts his techniques to a three-dimensional medium. Brown’s sculptures are an extension of his works on paper and his interest in merging mediums; they are envisioned as three-dimensional paintings that use bronze as their support instead of paper or canvas.
Thanks to support from the Peterson Family Collection, a catalog accompanies the exhibition and includes an essay by Emily Shinn, a graduate student in the University of Oregon’s History of Art and Architecture.
Born in 1966, Brown trained in Bath and London before securing his place of prominence in contemporary art. Finding inspiration in the art historical past, he embraces the concept of appropriation and uses it as a means to create original work without rejecting the rich history of style and iconography that precedes him. Often pushing the boundaries of the recognizable and enigmatic, he finds balance between influence and copy, new and old, reverence and play.
His works has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the globe including Serpentine Gallery, London; Tate Liverpool, England; Frans Hals Museum, The Netherlands; Rennie Collection, Vancouver BC; Museum Stefano Bardini, Italy; Venice Bienalle, Italian Pavilion; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Museo Guggenheim, Spain, and more. Brown is represented by the Gagosian Gallery in New York and London and the Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin and Paris.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the Americas as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of seven museums—and the only academic art museum-- in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.
Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu
