Susan Brown

Her Mother, mixed media on cardboard, 2012

Parents at the Beach, mixed media on cardboard, 13.5″ x 15.5″, 2013

Breakfast Table, mixed media on cardboard, 12.5″ x 18.5″, 2013

Recalling the charm of Alex Katz and grit of Philip Guston, Brown is a distinctly New York painter. The paintings of her city, memories, and family are structured and complex, while also appearing effortless and intuitive - the result of a long and prolific career. The paragon of her practice is the extensive "Her Mother" series (see first image above),  which includes hundreds of depictions of her mother, organized and described in grids. Brown works at Pure Vision Arts in New York, NY. From Pure Vision:

"Susan Brown was born in 1957 in Copiague, New York and for many years has lived in Sayville, New York. Diagnosed with autism as a young child, she began drawing spirals, women and cars at the age of five and was encouraged by her father, an engineer, her mother, a chemist, and her aunt, a sculptor. Brown first painted her characteristic grid like drawings on cardboard in the 1980’s while working as a dishwasher at Friendly’s where cardboard packing was readily available." (more)

 

David Holt

  

Holt's work-space in Project Onward's beautiful Bridgeport studio. 

"David Holt (b. 1984) expressed an early interest in music, romance and celebrities through his artwork as a member of Chicago’s Gallery 37, an after-school job-training program in the arts. In 2009, with the death of his grandmother, Holt turned his attention to obituaries, or “memorial portraits” of important persons. His canvas painting and drawings on cardboard are direct and show his sense of immediacy – he begins to work as soon as obituaries are posted and drawings are typically finished in one day." (more)

Long-time artist of Project Onward in Chicago, David Holt is also a long-time favorite of ours; he's presently the only artist represented in the collections of both Disparate Minds writers. Each time a work is sold, he adds it to a detailed log that he maintains, including the piece's intended geographical destination. Holt's works are simple in form and direct in technique - his graphite and colored pencil drawings are most often fairly small and executed on cardboard. Somehow, though, he prolifically creates work with a presence and gravity that's mysterious and consistently compelling.