Jack Brown.
@jackbrownwork
Represented by GERTRUDE. link here
I am a visual artist working with (and in the spaces between) sculpture, painting, response to site, print, public action, drawing, photography and video.
My work looks at the overlooked, things that should be given more than a passing glance, moments that would benefit from magnification.
I’m interested in finding starting points/references that make us search our collective peripheral vision, ‘ways in’ that start of conversations and connections, leading us somewhere new.
I work with other people; collaborate, teach, coordinate, lead public realm projects and facilitate artist networks.
As a counterbalance to direct interactions that punctuate my public projects, my work sometimes plays with ideas of placement, slightness, filling normal stuff with magic, observation and distant collaborations.
Making a cover for a fruit machine, abandoned objects from parks pressed into floral foam, holding up a sculpture for a day in a carpark, artworks made out of the grease marks left on bus windows by passenger’s hair, rope swing stereographs, sprawling schools projects about the power of collective construction, hanging trinkets in street grids, posting artworks to people without telling them who it’s from, working with 20 investment bankers to make a room filling painting about mistakes.
Interventions in the wider world, collaborations and manipulations; my practice can be seen as an investigation into ways of making and how those made objects or moments interact with the world around them.
Selected Exhibitions
2024
A borrowing of bones.
Group Show.
Slugtown off-site exhibition.
Paradise Works.
Curated by Matt Antoniak and Max Lee.
2023
Empty Galleries
Solo Presentation.
installation/Karaoke/Lyrics sheet.
Paradise Works Project Space.
2023.
Sight Ingested.
Touring group show/menu/performance
Including scaled down versions of my ‘the grease marks left by a passengers hair on a bus window’ works.
Tokyo
Curated by Mike Chavez-Dawson
Strange Encounters.
Group show/Booth
Paradise Works at the
Manchester Contemporary.
2023.
Pallet show 12
Group show.
Manchester Contemporary
2023.
Curated by Nat Pitt and Daniel Pryde-Jarman.
KNIP
Group show/booth.
Juxtapose Art Fair.
PINK Gallery.
Curated by Katy Morrison and Kevin Hunt.
Aarhus,
Denmark
New Stuff.
Solo show.
Paradise Works, Salford.
A presentation of new works to coincide with
the Manchester International Festival 2023.
Soaps.
Solo presentation.
Suihkulähde Galerie.
Kamppi district of Helsinki.
Curated by Magnus Quaife.
link here
2022
Things fall apart.
Group Show
Paradise Works.
Salford
Co-curator with Hilary Jacks.
Gertrude Presents.
Group show.
The Truman Brewery
Brick Lane
London.
Curated by Gertrude.
A Modest Show.
Group presentation for work.
The Hamptons Air Fair.
New York. USA.
Curated by Natt Pitt and Alex Zawadzki
link here
Breathing in and Drawing out.
Group Show.
Rogue Studios.
A Modest Show.
Curated by Mike Chavez-Dawson and Simon Woolham.
You Belong Here.
Three major new works.
Group Show.
The Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
The University of Salford’s Art collection.
2021
Multiples.
The Manchester Contemporary
Paradise Works stand.
Showing ‘Artworks for lost cars’
Recreational Grounds – Off Site
Group show. new public realm work.
Thames Side Studio Gallery.
London.
Curated by Fiona Grady and Tim Ralston.
2020
The Warrington Contemporary
Group Show.
showing two new works ‘Standing Sculptures’ and ‘Clock Covers’.
Warrington Museum and Art Gallery.
Selected by
Mariama Attah.
Chris Bailkoski.
Paulette Terry Brien.
Jane McLean.
Matthew Pendergast.
Lesley Taker.
The Manchester Open.
Group Show
Trinkets
Short film
HOME. Manchester
Selected by committee including Bren O’Callaghan, Mario Popham and Helen Wewiora.
2019
Operation Impact Regulations.
Group show.
Two large digital prints.
PS Mirabel.
Manchester.
Curated by Alistair Woods
Trinkets.
Solo presentation
Short Film.
Paradise Works, Salford.
Manifest Art Festival 2019.
Super Brain
Group show
16 ‘grease marks let of the bus window by a passengers hair’ transfer prints.
Chapel Gallery
Ormskirk, Lancashire.
Under the Northern Sky
Group show
Public realm trinket sculptures and film.
Signal Film and Media.
Barrow-in-Furness, UK.
Found Note Silk Hanky
SOLO SHOW.
New works on silk
Paper Gallery, Manchester.
2018
Recreational Grounds III.
‘Standing Sculptures’ in group show.
A site-specific exhibition at Wendover House Car Park, London. Curated by Fiona Grady and Tim Ralston.
Bankley Studios Open Exhibition
New work show in selected annual open exhibition
Bankley Gallery, Manchester.
Selected by Magnus Quaife, James Moss and Leanne Greene
Represent!
Series of banners/instructions ‘where to put it’ 2018 -19.
People’s History Museum. Manchester
Something and Nothing
Three new works shown as part of group show.
Abingdon Studios.
Blackpool.
Curated by Garth Gratrix
2017
Drawing someone’s house, then delivering it back to them, anonymously.
For Space – Group Show
Paper Gallery
Manchester
Curated by Simon Woolham.
2016
The Whatchamacallit
One off collaborative recording of a fantastical object.
The Parasol Unit, London.
2015
Constellations
A series of small sculptures.
Alt MFA International Jamboree.
Guest Projects. Shonibare Studios. London.
Selected Public projects
2024
Making things that disappear.
Studio based public workshop.
as part of ‘a borrowing of bones’.
Slugtown off-site exhibition.
Paradise Works.
Curated by Matt Antoniak and Max Lee.
Psychogeology.
Laughing Rock. Sunken camera. Quarry Portal.
Jack Brown and Company.
Team built wall based multi-media installation.
The New Market Hall.
Barrow-in-Furness.
Signal Film and Media.
2022-23
You and Me, Outside.
Co-authored exhibition with local young people.
as Part of TIDAL commission.
Signal Film and Media.
Barrow-in-Furness.
2022
Shop Front. Night Camera. Animal.
A nocturnal artwork, projecting night cam footage of local animals into the windows of a disused bank at night.
Storyhouse, Chester. Wild Rumpus. The Cheshire Wildlife Trust
link here
2021
Sprinkles of sand, below on the Island.
A Mosaic Project by Sally Hirst.
Collaborating with Sally to produce an instructional video and booklet for a summer postal project.
Venture Arts. Manchester.
2020
Deed poll.
Public realm commission.
Shandy Hall, York. UK.
‘Changing the live-in custodians name by deed pool’
Arts and Heritage.
link here
2019
How to learn like an artist while being taught like an accountant.
Breakout workshop and lesson.
Engage Conference.
Northumberland University.
Newcastle.
Encounters
Lead Artist. Working with five Salford Secondary schools to promote routes into HE study through encounters with creative professionals.
Workshops and encounters across the city.
2018 to 2024
Link here
Lumiere Festival
County wide primary School resource.
Lumiere Durham 2019.
Artichoke.
Visiting Artist
Two year programme of visual arts support for St Margarets Primary school. Reach 2.
Art weeks and staff CPD.
Lowestoft, Suffolk
2018
Take pArt Challenge
Lead artist during development of online resource.
Technical tip videos, downloadable starting points and a selection of video of contemporary artists.
Children and the Arts and the Jack Petchey Foundation.
2017
‘Figure Ground – Road Trip’ Book Launch.
Co-author.Launch of publication documenting three year ACE funded project
interviewing publically engaged artists across the UK.
Problem Solver
Working with 30 primary school pupils and artist Annamaria Kardos
to ask the question ‘what have I learnt that I’ve not been taught’
workshops and public performance
Tidemill Academy, Deptford x, Deptford Lounge Library.
2016
Den. Sculptures you can hide in.
Collaborative sculpture making with children and families.
The South London Gallery. Clore Studio space. London.
UNITS OF POWER
Working with three schools in Edmonton and over 160 pupils.
co-authoring semi-permanent public realm sculptures.
2 x CPD for staff.
Children and the Arts. Harringey Council. Saatchi Gallery.
Education/ Qualifications/Training.
2018-19. Platform :NW Artists Development Lab. Cumbria, UK. Signal Film and Media.
2018. Tracing Paper. 9 months of professional mentorship and critical discourse. Paper Gallery Manchester.
2017. Cultural Learning Community. A New Direction. London.
2012-13. Extend. National Leadership Programme. Engage.
1998-2001. London Guildhall University. B.A. Honours Degree in Fine Art.
1997-98. Manchester school of Art. MMU. BTEC Foundation Course.
Awards/Prizes/Commissions
2023-4 – AA2A artist residency at Staffordshire University. Fine Art.
2022-23 – Arts Council funded D.Y.C.P grant.
2021-22 – Chester – Designed by Nature.
Commission of public realm video work by Storyhouse and Wild Rupmus.
‘Shop Front. Night Camera. Animal’ was a nocturnal artwork, projecting night cam footage of local animals into the windows of a disused bank at night.
Storyhouse, Chester. Wild Rumpus. The Cheshire Wildlife Trust
2020 – Rediscovering Salford.
Commission of new work for the University of Salfords Art Collection.
Salford City Council, Salford Museum & Art Gallery, University of Salford Art Collection, RHS Bridgewater, The Lowry and Peel Park.
2020 – Arts and Heritage ‘Blue Sky Museum’ commission.
Public commission/intervention.
Shandy Hall, Coxwold, York UK.
2020 – Associate Artist. Paper Gallery, Manchester.
2019 – Selected for the Artists’ International Delegation 2019 to Denmark.
One of nine North West artists selected for a mini-residency that aims to encourage a cultural understanding and exchange between Denmark and the UK.
Castlefield Gallery. AN Artists Newsletter.
2018 – Shortlisted for the Bankley Open Call Prize 2018.
(for Bin Bag Paintings – 2018)
2014 – The Marsh Award for excellence in gallery education.
(For work as Director of the Hackney Wicked Art Festival and as Artist educator at the Saatchi Gallery)
2013 – A.C.E. funding for ‘Figure Ground public art road trip’. Three year Uk wide project.
Press
2023- Corridor 8 Article. Iona Glen. ‘You and Me, Outside’ TIDAL. link here
2022- Meet the Maker video interview for ‘Shop Front. Night Camera’ Animal’ as part of Chester designed by nature. link here
2021- Corridor 8 Article. Natalie Bradbury. You Belong Here. link here
2019 – The Fourdrinier magazine ‘Found Note Silk Hankie’ review. link here
2018 – Paper Magazine ‘tracing paper’ article. link here
2017 – Paper Magazine ‘For space’ article. link here
Publications
2021 – You Belong Here. Exhibition Catalogue. Salford Museum and Art Gallery. link here
2021 – Recreation grounds. A Playground for intervention. link here
2020 – Warrington Contemporary 2020. Exhibition catalogue. link here
2014 – Figure Ground Public art road trip. Co-author. link here
2010 – Can You hear it. Exhibition catalogue. Nunnery Gallery. Bow Arts.
2009 – Does the Spectator run the show? Small edition printed publication. Contents May Vary.
2008 – Multicomplexificantionalities. Exhibition catalogue. Nunnery Gallery. Bow Arts.
Collections
University of Salford Art Collection.
Soho House collection.
Connell Orton’s Private collection.
Zoe Watson’s Private collection.
A number for private collections across the UK.