Farrell Mason- Brown

Lives and works in New York, NY

Artist statement

I create paintings that bridge landscape and abstraction. I rely on the element of surprise and discovery to complete my paintings. My process is grounded in the use of self-made tools, such as a repurposed kitty litter scooper and found objects I use to print directly on the canvas. This approach allows me to lose full control of the work because of the unpredictable marks that these objects create. Often these tools create aesthetic challenges that I then respond to in multiple layers of addition and subtraction of paint and pigment. I sometimes resist finding a recognizable image, trying to push myself into a territory I have never seen before. This unpredictability is furthered by the uncontrollable materials I use such as homemade inks, nail polish, and raw pigment. I begin each painting with pours of thinned acrylic paint, then respond intuitively to the forms that surface, building and erasing with layers of ink, acrylic, and then oil paint and pigment. Through this process, images of landscape and cityscape may gradually emerge. Other paintings remain more abstract, referencing a landscape but not fully depicting it. Through my work, I explore themes of the environment, changing weather patterns, energy, and mortality. I paint phenomena that are larger and more powerful than humans such as mountains and the vast expanse of the sky. I take a zoomed out perspective that emphasizes the awe inspiring beauty of the earth and the cycles of life and death.

Artwork