CAROLYN BRADY December 7 - January 11, 2003
In contrast to Carolyn Brady's last exhibition, which revolved around one aspect of the artist's signature tablescapes, intimate views into shared moments of a repast, the new watercolors-also tablescapes, rotate around the core of a larger than life flowering bouquet, rarely seen in its entirety. The bouquets, and the close-in, heady view of flowers, link the works together, creating the illusion of a resplendent winter garden.	Carolyn Brady, Orchid on a Box/Roland Park watercolor on paper, 43 x 51 inches, 2001
Carolyn Brady, Breakfast Table with Orchid and Beyond watercolor on paper, 51 x 34 inches, 2001	Interestingly, the series sprang forth after Brady's move from Baltimore to New York in the spring of 2001. Moving from a house with rambling garden to a New York apartment was a life-changing experience. The artist writes:
"In May 2001, I moved to New York from a large old shingle house in a leafy treed dogwood fairyland to Manhattan.	Carolyn Brady, Orange, Lemon, Violet, Rose/Roland Park watercolor on paper, 26 x 36 inches, 2001
Carolyn Brady, Grand White Flower Bouquet/New York watercolor on paper, 52 x 35 inches, 2001	"A few days after moving, a friend sent a spectacular bouquet envisioned in Grand White Flower Bouquet/New York. In the density and concreteness of the city, the flowers felt overwhelmingly full of nature and spirit like. A few days later another friend took me to the flower market. I was again transformed by the voluptuous array of piles of favorite flowers, in short, in heaven.
"The watercolor painting still lifes resulted from reactions to city life and attempts to portray symbols of nature. And in a smaller and more compact size than heretofore. The drive to convey expressions of transcendence of spirit became heightened after September 11, 2001 in contrast to city ruins. More memento mori.	Carolyn Brady, ile Flottante watercolor on paper, 30 x 45 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady, Pilgrim Roses watercolor on paper, 21 x 30 inches, 2002	"The watercolor images of flowers are actualized by taking photographs to work from. The paintings, which seem very illusionistic, are at the same time decon-structions of photographs into specific painting marks--not codified, calligraphic marks. Watercolor allows palpable feeling of brush on paper, which heightens the texture of the spirit. The paint marks are meant to encode each piece of light with energy or prana.
"The illusionism is the seduction into architectural structure and the transcendent symbols abstraction can have."	Carolyn Brady, White Hydrangea/Maine watercolor on paper, 31 x 45 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady, Raspberry Red Hydrangea watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2001	In this series of watercolors Brady pushes color to new heights, using it as a vehicle to express life force. Coral Poppies and Peony Poppies are two examples of works that pulse with energy. While the subjects are the stuff we surround ourselves with in our lives--tables, books, papers, mail, bunches of flowers in vases--Brady elevates them from ordinary "stuff" to objects of contemplation.
Scale plays a role in the impact of Brady's new watercolors. Bouquets are larger than life, breathing nature's abundance, as the blossoms cascade from side to side of the paper and flow past the top edge. Brady is a master at cropping her images, inviting the viewer into an experience that is simultaneously cerebral, structural, sensual and spiritual.	Carolyn Brady, Early Summer Dinner/Maine watercolor on paper, 26 x 40 inches, 2001
Carolyn Brady, Peonies and Lilies:Brunette watercolor on paper, 38 x 51 inches, 2002	Carolyn Brady was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma in 1937. She received her B.F.A. from the University of Oklahoma at Norman and her M.F.A. from the same institution. She has taught at the University of Missouri in Saint Louis.
Carolyn Brady, Nasturtiums in Squiggly Vase watercolor on paper, 20 x 30 inches, 2002	Carolyn Brady, Nasturtiums with Large Leaf watercolor on paper, 15 x 22 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady's work has been widely shown throughout the country at the Academy of the Arts, Easton, Maryland; The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland; Boise Art Museum, Idaho; The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; The Canton Museum of Art, Ohio; Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, Florida; Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina; Davenport Museum of Art, Iowa; William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, Rockland, Maine; Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Indiana; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, Tennessee;	Carolyn Brady, Golden Ranunculi watercolor on paper, 22 x 14 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady, Peach Daffodils and Oranges watercolor on paper, 22 x 14 inches, 2002	Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; Jacksonville Art Museum, Florida; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina; University of Missouri at Kansas City and St. Louis; Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; The Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, New Jersey; Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York; National Academy of Design, New York; National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.; Newport Art Museum, Rhode Island; University of Oklahoma, Norman; Oklahoma City Art Museum, Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; Orlando Museum of Art, Florida; Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia;
The Philbrook Museum, Tulsa; Pittsburgh Art Center, Pennsylvania; Portland Museum of Art, Maine; Art Gallery, University of Rhode Island, Kingston; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida; San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas; Springfield Art Museum, Missouri; Wilson Arts Center/The Harvey School, Rochester, New York; Wichita Art Museum, Kansas; Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts; among others. Her work has also been shown abroad at The Miyagi Museum of Art, Miyagi; Sogo Museum of Art, Yokohama; Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Tokushima; Museum of Modern Art, Shiba; and Kochi Prefectural Museum of Folk Art, Kochi, Japan.	Carolyn Brady, Tantric Tea watercolor on paper, 39 x 26 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady, Green Dot Jug with Sunflowers/Maine watercolor on paper, 30 x 22 inches, 2001	Carolyn Brady's work is represented in numerous public collections, among them: The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; The Canton Museum of Art, Ohio; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington; Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, Indiana; William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, Rockland, Maine; Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan; Huntsville Museum of Art, Alabama; Indiana University Art Museum, Indianapolis, Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum, San Antonio;
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; The New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut; Norton Gallery and School of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida; Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City; University of Oklahoma, Museum of Art, Norman; Orlando Museum of Art, Florida; The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma; University of Rochester Museum, New York; St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville; Springfield Art Museum, Missouri; Tampa Museum of Art, Florida; Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts.	Carolyn Brady, Peony Poppies watercolor on paper, 38 x 26 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady, Coral Poppies watercolor on paper, 45 x 30 inches, 2002	Carolyn Brady, Peach Daffodils watercolor on paper, 45 x 30 inches, 2002
Carolyn Brady resides in New York.	Carolyn Brady Prints
	Carolyn Brady Artist Page