ARTIST STATEMENT
The living form has always been at the center of the work. My work grows and evolves based on my growth and evolution. Each piece is colored by my experiences, emotions, thought processes, observations and movement through the world. Motherhood has greatly influenced my work. Raising children has given me an opportunity to examine the evolution of childhood through a lens of understanding how the world will view black youth and the effect that will have on their development. The understanding has driven me to create an environment which has allowed my children the freedom to grow up at their own pace. As the children grow, the work grows. It is easy to find beauty in a cherub-faced child running free. But what happens when that same child is moody, or adorned with perfectly coiffed edges and piercings? What happens when jump ropes and swings are traded for TikTok and eyeliner? Can we still find beauty in those moments? Do we still embrace a freedom that feels less innocent? What happens to that free, black child through the years? How do they move through the adult world? How do they carry themselves? How do they view the world around them? Do you still see the beauty in their adult freedom or does it morph into something else? My work seeks to explore all of these questions without attempting to answer them. It is a quest to highlight the beauty of our humanness and how that is received by the world.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Adrienne Brown-David is a figurative oil painter originally from St. Louis, MO. She lived and worked in the Virgin Islands for nine years, rural Mississippi for fifteen and has recently relocated to Chicago. She has been featured in numerous exhibits and publications throughout the United States and Caribbean. She has been awarded several awards and grants and was most recently named the 2023/24 Jane Crater Hiatt Fellow, which allowed her to travel and work in Nigeria. Adrienne is a wife and mother of four. Motherhood has greatly influenced her work over the years.
© Adrienne Brown-David