Becky Brown

Lives and works in Buffalo, NY, USA

Artist statement

My paintings explore technology’s effects on language, meaning and communication. Today, more text circulates between more people than ever before, yet meaning and authenticity is increasingly in question. Who is speaking? Can language be trusted? Is there another human behind the words on our screens? I consider how communication might become more legible or trustworthy, more empathetic and more just, more free and more human. To me, this means bringing language off the screen and back to physical forms. My texts are adapted from sources online and off, including social media, news, conversations, literature, and advertising. Because the digital overflow of language can numb our minds and senses, I often use repetition to explore the boundaries between meaning and nonsense. Hand-painted text allows poetic nuance a way back in, pushing back against the standardization of Word documents and text messages, and drawing attention to the loss of individuality in on-screen expression. Many of my compositions resemble screen layouts, with vivid patterns and painterly irregularities that act as visual interference, disrupting the routines of online life and jolting us out of the trance of endless scrolling. Other works combine bright color and intricate pattern with single words or short phrases that gain (or lose) meaning through online circulation. I infuse them with improvisational abstraction, countering the control of the attention economy with the freedom and openness of...

Artwork