An Interview on Painting
Delia Brown speaks with Arts Magazine about her new painting “Best Friends,” 2021 and her changes in thinking about portraiture and self-portraiture. What does it mean to paint other women – “influencers” on Instagram, for instance – when the gaze becomes critical? Brown often returns to herself as the subject or site of questioning, with irony, kitsch, and humor as natural paths for introspection. She uses “dumb” painting to disguise tension her viewers might otherwise reject. Brown also discusses her fascination with two Russian artists, Marevna (or Marie Vorobieff), for her elusive paintings of women in no particular context, and Igor Pantuhoff (who was once in a relationship with Lee Krasner), whose works left a lasting impression on Brown as a child. And the self-portraits of Rembrandt? Brown is not a fan!
