Known primarily as a sculptor, Colleen Brown explores the relationships of objects and materials as a means of thinking through abstraction and social encounters. In recent years, Brown has been particularly concerned with the material forms of civic space, producing works using stainless-steel piping, bright bollards, fluorescent forms reminiscent of caution tape and roadside flags, and cast polymer reliefs to consider the sensory and affective nature of common objects in the built environment. In the artist’s most recent body of work, vividly painted organic shapes balance carefully within open-ended frames, encouraging the viewer to engage with the forms as both paintings and sculptures.
Brown lives in Vancouver and holds a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, and an MFA from Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. She has participated in recent exhibitions and events at Western Gallery, Bellingham; Shelfed, Vancouver; Hedreen Gallery, Seattle; Airbnb, Seattle; and The Apartment, Vancouver. Brown is the recipient of a 2016 Portfolio Prize.
