Untitled

This stark interpretation of an African mask combines several recurrent themes in Brown's work. Brown has often sought to convey the primordial ritual strength found in African and other non-western art, and another of his long-time interests is graffiti. In his series of black paintings from the 1980s, of which this is one, he drew simplified motifs into a background of black paint. Brown also makes etchings, and in this painting he used a technique analogous to etching, gouging the lines out of the paint layer with a pointed instrument. The linear alterations reflect light, which the eye perceives as a two-dimensional pattern.