Obscure Identities

Artist: Zen Browne

June 5 - 22, 2013
Reception: June 6, 6 - 8pm

 

"Obscure Identities" presents paintings from 2009 to the present by East Village artist Zen Browne. These portraits of transsexual men meditate on identity and serve to counteract the underrepresentation of the transsexual experience in visual culture. They also mirror Browne's own sense of selfhood, both artistically and personally. Where Browne's past work has documented a self-expression in flux through allegorical representation, his adaption of the portrait form serves to ground these themes of transformation in everyday life, producing representations of friends and acquaintances that are at once intimate and real. The portraits on view strive to locate a commonality on the plane of human experience, while initiating a constructive dialogue about the spectrum and self-expression of gender identity.

Browne's return to figural representation reflects his interest if the formal characteristics of painting. It has allowed him the opportunity to explore color, the play of light, and the human form in his own expressive style. His absorption with the material reality of the painting process can be seen in several works-in-process presented alongside a video documenting Browne at work in his studio.