Multidisciplinary Artist

Janine Brown Studio
Studio # 302
janinekbr@gmail.com
203-685-5986
janinebrownstudio.com
@janinebrownstudio

Janine Brown (b. Belmond, Iowa. 1967) is a multidisciplinary artist in Connecticut. Her experiences as a fashion designer, wife, and mother inform her work. She draws on these experiences to question ideas and stereotypes of people, places, and things. Her award-winning work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Silvermine Galleries (New Canaan, CT); Moorpark College Art Gallery (Moorpark, CA); and Gallery 825 (Los Angeles, CA). Group exhibitions include “Stitching the Revolution” at the Mattatuck Museum (Waterbury, CT); “NOW: As a Consequence of Fact” at Pen & Brush (New York City, NY);  “Liminal Forms” at The Invisible Dog (Brooklyn, NY); and “Tra 2 Mari” at the Museo Area Archeologica Arte Contemporanea (Cisternino, Italy). Brown holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts (NY), an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, an AAS from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and a BFA from Iowa State University.

Artist Statement

A curiosity about materials and my experience as a fashion designer, wife, and mother from rural Iowa inform my work. Using materials and mediums in surprising ways, I create sculpture, fiber art, photography, video, and installation. The medium employed for each body of work adjusts based on the best approach to conveying my ideas.

My current work honors the scientific origins of home economics and women’s work by embracing cooking, sewing, and craft skills. I use kitchen chemistry and items from my pantry to create all-natural biodegradable plastic and composite materials that encapsulate kitchen leftovers, family financial statements, shredded U.S. currency, and the language of flowers. The home-cooked materials are stitched or crafted into objects and quilt patterns that critique constraints, myths, and demands of domesticity, marriage, motherhood, and capitalism. Due to the biodegradable properties, the pieces have the potential to be liberated given the right environmental conditions.