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Jen Brown was born near Toronto, Canada in 1978. She holds a Master’s Degree in Art History and a Curatorial Diploma from York University in Toronto (class of 2004). She has lived in Japan and Mexico, and currently resides in Portland, OR, where she is active in the art community hosting a monthly salon, curating exhibitions independently, lecturing, and exhibiting her work. She writes a daily blog on contemporary and historical Narrative Painting at www.instagram.com/narrativepainting or at www.narrativepainting.net. Brown is a self-taught painter; however her education in Art History bears insight into the subject and style of her narrative paintings. She is a finalist in the 2018 and 2019 Art Renewal Center’s annual Salon Competition and exhibited last year with Poets&Artists at the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM). She recently had a solo show at Wolff Gallery in Portland. Her work can be found in private collections in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and Australia.
CV
Jen Brown (b.1978 Canada)
Education
York University, Master of Arts, Art History, 2004
York University, Diploma in Curatorial Studies, 2004
University of Waterloo, Bachelors Degree, Art History Honours, 2002
Awards
Finalist, Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, 2019
Finalist, Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, 2018
Finalist, Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Competition, 2017
Best in Show, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR, 2017
Exhibitions
2019
Group Exhibition, Art Soup, Brassworks Gallery, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Caravaggio Died of the Jello Fever, The Secret Gallery, Astoria, OR
Solo Exhibition, The Allegories, Wolff Gallery, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Desire + Decadence, Gallery 114, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Painting Today, European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM), Barcelona, Spain
Group Exhibition, She Flies with Her Own Wings, Salem Art Association, Salem, OR
2018
Group Exhibition, Pandora’s Box, Splendorporium, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Transformations, P5 Centers for the Arts, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, The Artist’s Sketchbook, Elisabeth Jones Art Center, Portland, OR
Solo Exhibition, West Seattle Art Walk, Seattle, WA
Group Exhibition, Expose YourSELF in Art, Gallery 114, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Alchemy, Splendorporium Gallery, Portland, OR
2017
Group Exhibition, Reflections, P5 Centers for the Arts, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, St Johns Art Walk, Cathedral Park Place Gallery, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR
Group Exhibition, We Belong Here, Emerson Street House, Portland, OR
Two Person Exhibition, Mt Tabor Art Walk, Art Heads Gallery, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Unpresidented, Screaming Sky Gallery, Portland, OR
Group Exhibition, Unnatural Election, Kimmel Galleries at NYU, New York, NY
2016
Group Exhibition, San Antonio Art Walk, Los Arcos, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2015
Group Exhibition, Los 5, Los Arcos, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2014
Solo Exhibition, Dress Up, Teatro Santa Ana, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Collections
Works held in private collections in the US, UK, Mexico, Australia, and Canada
Publications (featured in)
Holverstott, Brett. “Comedy in an Era of Anxiety.” Figure Ground Art Review. 2 Nov 2019, https://medium.com/figure-ground-art-review/comedy-in-an-era-of-anxiety-2acad9d2f3a5.
“Ambassador of the Week: Jen Brown.” Realism Today, 14 Oct 2019, https://realismtoday.com/narrative-oil-paintings-realism-jen-brown/ .
Pothier, Chris. “Jen Brown – Narrative Painter – Interview by the Lives of the Artists.” Youtube, The Lives of the Artists interview by Chris Pothier, 25 Sept 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjPZtyQa6M
Menendez, Didi. “100+ Contemporary Figurative Artists on Instagram.” 01.Media. Aug 6, 2019. 01.media/100-contemporary-figurative-artists-on-instagram.
Memory Hole. Portland, The People’s Colloquium, 2019.
Various publications related to ‘Painting Today’ exhibition at the MEAM 2019 https://spark.adobe.com/page/5vpdOtpTWqHqa/?fbclid=IwAR0yvi2tCuRtqwMyq6Yk8V4dCHy6nu5lnK6nE6qSpusDmop2P1JvWxvYw3g
“The Tragically Hip.” Anastamos, Fall 2018, anastamos.chapman.edu/index.php/issues/issue-4-tangible/.
Brown, Jen. “The Allegory of Post-Truth” et al. 2017. Portland 2017: An Anthology, The People’s Colloquium, 2017, cover art et al.
Publications (written)
Brown, Jen. “The Prophetic Visions of Painters Before the Age of Coronavirus.” Figure Ground Art Review, 28 Mar 2020, https://medium.com/figure-ground-art-review/the-prophetic-visions-of-painters-before-the-age-of-coronavirus-9bf43b633b2b.
Brown, Jen. “Painters Are Telling New Stories.” Figure Ground Art Review, 20 Nov 2019, https://medium.com/figure-ground-art-review/painters-are-telling-new-stories-234d06506275.
Brown, Jen. “My Self.” Poets&Artists. Issue 103: Goss 183, July 2019.