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DEBORAH BROWN WORKS TO OPEN AT LESLEY HELLER GALLERY MARCH 28

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NEW YORK CITY — Lesley Heller Gallery will present new paintings and works on paper by New York-based artist Deborah Brown, on view March 28–April 26. A reception for the artist will be Friday, March 28, from 6 to 8 pm.

Brown’s recent paintings continue her interest in exploring the collision of human and natural habitats. This exhibition concentrates primarily on the landscape of New York City, specifically on its bridges and the iconic architecture of the 1964-65 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow Park, Queens.

For Brown, these architectural artifacts evoke memories of grandeur, pride and progress, as well as evidence the ability of humans to manipulate their habitat. Brown views her paintings as “collages” of found photos, memory and observation. Her paintings blur the boundaries between the real, the imagined and the invented.

Animals sometimes appear as ominous silhouettes, which can be seen as underscoring their precarious status by blotting them out or as highlighting their portentous return. Other times, the roles are reversed, the manmade elements are in silhouette and the animals are depicted as unique, vulnerable individuals. This shifting, rotating point of view adds alternating layers of uncertainty and ambiguity. In the shadow of the mammoth construction projects of the last century, what will the environment of the future look like? Which will survive, the structures or the animals?

This exhibition also features Brown’s conte drawings and watercolors made from direct observation. Noting the influence of Frederic Remington and Winslow Homer in particular, Brown says, “I see myself in the tradition of American landscape painting.”

The gallery is at 16 East 77th Street, ground floor. For information, 212-410-6120 or www.lesleyheller.com.