Krystle Brown
Krystle Brown (b.1989) received her BFA in Painting and Art History at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2012, with Academic Honors. In May of 2018, Brown received her MFA at The School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, where they received the Montague Travel Grant to research in Northern Ireland in March of 2017 and was awarded the Katherine Romero Graduating Student Award. Brown was the co-curator of the Webster Court Project in Newton, MA, where she helped organize over 20 Boston-based artists to create installations in a vacant Victorian home, complete with collaborative projects with the public. In addition, they have been a resident at Stonehouse Residency for the Contemporary Arts in Miramonte, California, Lazuli Residency in Corinth, Vermont, Vermont Studio Center in Johnson Vermont, and 77 Art in Rutland, Vermont. In 2019, they became one of the Emerging Artist Fellows at Kingston Gallery in Boston, and recently, Brown exhibited their first solo exhibition, “15,000 Days,” at Kingston Gallery.
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? Well, much to my parent’s chagrin, I remember coloring all over the walls of my room when I was able to hold a marker. My “cave painting era” was quite elaborate too, I depicted entire scenes shaped from traces of my hands and using the whole array of markers and crayons at my disposal. I guess I was not being watched as carefully I ought to have been.
When did art become a pursuit? It became a more serious pursuit in high school when my teachers noticed my more sophisticated use of color. I took the time to practice and develop my skills, though it was hard to decide on a college/career path because I had interests in many areas. I had a deep love of history and natural sciences and did well in those subjects. Art always found a way to challenge me more though, and through art, I was able to grapple with the more conceptual topics that I found in my love of history.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? I received a formal education through my undergraduate degree from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and my graduate degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.
How did you first become involved with CAA? Right after I graduated from Tufts I entered into a juried exhibition, I believe the Emerging Artist Show, and I realized this was probably a good time to network beyond who I already knew from grad school. So I signed up to become an associate member and have stayed on ever since!
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? I am also the Marketing Director and one of the current Emerging Artists at Kingston Gallery in Boston, so I feel well connected to what is happening in SOWA. Once a month, I try to get out to the galleries and see the shows, which is really important to keep my brain fresh. Beyond SOWA, I am keenly interested in pursuing a public art practice, so I am educating myself to the communities and people who foster those opportunities.
What role do you think the artist plays in society? They are canaries in the coal mines. Artists are the gauge by which we measure the health and mindset of a society. But artists are also a part of an entire ecosystem of other important roles in a well-functioning culture, they should be feeding the knowledge and inspiration of other roles/professionals as much as artists are inspired by others in their world.
How do you choose your subject matter? Is there a reoccurring theme that carries throughout your work? I think my subject matter chose me, or rather, we came together at the same time. My intersecting topics mainly derive from my lived experiences combined with critical theory. I am interested in subjects surrounding family history, survival, generational trauma, economic class, and the histories of place. I often further describe my work in the juncture between place and time through personal narrative. I am always interested in when people lived, how they lived, and why they live(d) the way they do.
In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made? One of my favorite pieces is my newest work that I did for my solo exhibition, “15,000 Days”, at Kingston Gallery. Of course, the newest baby is always the favorite, but this was one of the few times I had to execute an entire project from to finish. It left me feeling wanting to do more and bigger with this work. I am also working on a project where I am documenting a house in Jamaica Plain that is in process of being renovated. Some of the photography from that shows my recent skill-building in that department which I find really exciting!
What is one of your artistic goals? I would love to make public art responding to the economic inequalities I see in Boston. This is a general five-year goal. Beyond that, I want to have a healthy career that lands me in a variety of opportunities where I consistently face new interesting challenges, and my work can be seen as a whole, rather than piecemeal.
Do you have any shows coming up? I have work at CAA in the National Prize Show and I am currently applying for some opportunities locally and nationally, so hopefully so of those will pan out!
See more from Krystle
Website: krystlebrownart.com
Instagram: @Krystlebrown_art