Tag: joan brown

Joan Brown at George Adams Gallery

Late Bay Area painter Joan Brown’s self-portrait at age 31 includes her dog and third husband (artist Gordon Cook) standing outside the San Francisco Opera House. Hovering on a sidewalk that recalls a conveyor belt and an inverted red carpet, Brown and her partner pause stiffly in an urban landscape curiously devoid of other people. (At George Adams Gallery in Chelsea).

Joan Brown, Gordon, Joan and Rufus in Front of S.F. Opera House, oil on canvas, 2 panels, 80 x 30 5/8 inches and 80 x 60 inches, 1969.

Joan Brown in ‘Viva la Raspberries’ at Harris Lieberman

Joan Brown, Mary Julia y Manuel, enamel on canvas, 1976.
Joan Brown, Mary Julia y Manuel, enamel on canvas, 1976.

Apart from its large size and bold color, Joan Brown’s ‘Mary Julia Y Manuel,’ from 1976 stands out for its romantic drama, played out on a bright red stage before a swirling San Francisco Bay.  Mary Julia, model and poet, holds a similar pose to Goya’s supposed lover, the Dutchess of Alba and her name is paired with Brown’s ex-husband Manuel, making this nighttime scene ring with tension. (‘Viva la Raspberries’ is at Harris Lieberman, Chelsea, through August 17th).