Glenn Brown / the Brown Collection / Marylebone, London
A review of the exhibition The Laughing Stock of the Heartless Star
Who would have guessed that less than five minutes from Bond Street lies a hidden gem of a museum? The Brown Collection, dedicated to the work of British artist Glenn Brown, is a serene haven for art enthusiasts. Currently on display is The Laughing Stock of the Heartless Star, an exhibition curated by Brown himself and his husband, Edgar Laguinia. This captivating show presents Brown’s own works alongside pieces spanning centuries of art history, exploring humanity’s search for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe.
The exhibition exudes a baroque sensibility, evident in the sinuous, hand-drawn lines of Brown’s drawings (Drawing/Painting 35 after De Heer, 2015) and the layered richness of his paintings (Doggerland, 2022–2024). The sculptural centerpiece, Morbid Fancies (2024), crafted from dried oil on marble and housed in the museum’s atmospheric “catacombs” (a vaulted underground gallery), serves as a poignant homage to the late Frank Auerbach, whose thick impasto style greatly influenced Brown’s existential explorations.
This exhibition, housed in a beautifully restored mews in Marylebone, is an absolute must-see.
Frank Auerbach (29 April 1931 - 11 November 2024)
The Legacy of Frank Auerbach: A Life in Paint and Passion
The art world has lost one of its towering figures with the passing of Frank Auerbach, a painter who, for over six decades, charted a path through raw emotion, intense observation, and unflinching dedication to his craft. Auerbach, who passed away yesterday at the age of 93, was among Britain’s most profound and influential artists, forever altering the way we view the human figure and the landscapes around us. His devotion to art was uncompromising, rooted in his daily practice at his Camden studio, where he painted seven days a week, taking only one day off each year.
Auerbach’s distinctive style—characterized by heavy impasto and a palpable physicality to his brushwork—has earned him a place beside his contemporaries and friends, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Although his work is housed in collections around the world, many people are still only beginning to understand his contributions to postwar figurative painting. Read full article here:
