It is little known that life drawing has been integral to the practice of internationally renowned ceramicist Christie Brown. For this exhibition, Brown presents a new body of work which includes a series of large-scale drawings which integrate characters derived from her life drawings over many years. These figures then take on narratives of their own, extending beyond the original life studio context. For Brown, the allure of mark-making is every bit as physical and tactile as making objects in clay. Overlaid, rubbed out, worked over and collaged together, creating pentimento effects, her drawn figures appear and disappear, pushing and pulling at the picture plane. In some images, figures are pared down, abstracted, and reduced to fragmentary shapes and traces, offering a sense of countless glimpses but denying the possibility of ultimate revelation. The figure may be part absent, but the essence of the figure’s presence is always retained. The work prompts questions – who are these seemingly connected but disconnected figures, caught in apparent existential moments?
The relationship between Brown’s drawing and her figurative sculpture adds a further layer of dynamism and complexity which has become an important aspect in her work. She has long been interested in the relief as some kind of metaphor for the gaps, the liminal spaces where changes can take place. The sculpture and drawing presented in this exhibition takes that concept further, exploring this intersection between two and three dimensions, an aspect offering new challenges and potential for Brown’s practice.
