Elizabeth Brown to join Henry Gallery as chief curator

Elizabeth A. Brown has been named chief curator for the UW’s Henry Art Gallery, Richard Andrews, gallery director, has announced. Brown joins the Henry’s staff at the end of August.

“I am very pleased to welcome Elizabeth Brown as our new Chief Curator,” said Andrews. “Liz’s breadth of experience in modern and contemporary art is a perfect match for the Henry and I look forward to introducing her to the artists, collectors and arts patrons of the Northwest.”

Elizabeth Brown

Brown comes to the UW from UC Santa Barbara, where she was chief curator for the University Art Museum. There, she organized many exhibitions of contemporary art and worked closely with local, national and international artists.

“I cannot imagine a more exciting place for contemporary culture than Seattle today,” said Brown. “Poised on the Pacific Rim - representing the juncture of West and East - and at the forefront of the cyber industry, Seattle embodies innovation, experimentation, and conceptual freedom. I am thrilled and honored to join the extraordinary people and resources of the Henry, which I have always admired for its creative programming and intellectual openness.”

Brown’s background includes significant accomplishments as a curator, educator, writer and researcher. She has headed up the curatorial department at Santa Barbara since 1997, and she was the Curator of Exhibitions and Collections there from 1992 to 1997.

During her tenure as Curator of Modern Art at the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, from 1989 to 1992, Brown was also an adjunct member of Oberlin’s Art Department faculty. She taught at the Columbia University Department of Art History and Archaeology from 1984 to1986.

Brown received her Ph.D. in Art History from Columbia University in New York in 1989. Her thesis was entitled Through the Sculptor’s Lens: The Photographs of Constantin Brancusi. Her bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from the University of Michigan and Columbia University respectively.

Brown has curated more than 24 exhibitions including Atom Boy Returns to Save the World!?/A New Project by Kenji Yan-obe, 2000; Stream of Consciousness: 8 LA Artists (including Amy Adler, Jeff Burton, and Monique Prieto), 1996; Lari Pittman Drawings, 1996; Kiki Smith, 1994; Guys Who Sew, 1994; (all at the University Art Museum at University of California, Santa Barbara) and Social Studies: 4+4 Young Americans (including Willie Cole, Renee Green, and Jeanne Silverthorne) at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, 1990.

Brown has created or participated in creating more than 23 publications on artists including Linda Besemer, Constantin Brancusi, Luca Buvoli, Liz Craft, Steven Criqui, Todd Gray, Oliver Herring, Jim Isermann, Vivienne Koorland, Charles LeDray, Robert Mangold, Henry Moore, Dave Muller, Laura Owens, Lari Pittman, Kiki Smith, Frances Stark and Kenji Yanobe. ¶