While other "made" art stars of his generation have been luxuriating in the fruits of their success by marrying Icelandic pop stars and opening trendy bars and then selling them as works"of "art", Glenn Brown has been quietly and anonymously painting his way into greatness. It's not suprising that in today's Post-Warholian era, where a well crafted "persona" can make up for no considerable shortage of talent, that an artist who has done so little to cultivate a public image (I'm aware of only 1 photo of him circulating on the internet), is only known by a small group of enthusiasts. Despite last years appearance in "Ecstasy", and a high profile Gagosian show, Brown, who seems to be selling well at least, flies deep below the radar of most of the cultural elite...While the ravishing and obsessive surfaces make these works easy objects of collector fetish, the content has a bleak and apocalyptic darkness that keeps most at bay. Brown is truly an obsessive genius, adrift and alienated from contemporary culture, he mines the art-historical rubbish bin for clues to the unraveling present. This is how I see Brown..as an outsider..painting endlessly, constantly, tragically into the deep hours of the night..impelled by the need to recover at least a shred of beauty from the dark mist of decay that swarms around us like worms in the charnel house. From the sidewalk of a quiet London street, his studio light pierces the darkness..it is the last dying ember of a fire lit by the last man on earth..waiting patiently and with quiet resolve for the end that awaits us all.
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