A ceramic artist who most recently lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Joan Brown frequently uses porcelain, a material that helps her represent purity, delicacy, and fragility. This clay body allows her to mimic soft and supple flesh by creating highly detailed manipulations of surface that force the material to become something it is not. By stretching the limits of porcelain’s physical properties, Joan’s work symbolizes many of the complexities of femininity, as defined by both herself and by society. At HCCC, she hopes to expand upon this body of work and continue to develop visual representations of the injustices women face in contemporary cultures. In addition to cultivating her own personal growth, she hopes to be a part of and assist in fostering a community-oriented studio environment that is positive and welcoming.
Joan received her BFA, concentrating in ceramics, from the University of the Arts in 2013 and her MFA, concentrating in ceramics, from Bowling Green University in 2018. In 2020, she completed a two-year residency at University of the Arts, during which time she expounded on her thesis exhibition, Seductive Constrictions. Joan has shown work in Japan, New Orleans, Washington, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including a solo show in 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Learn more about Brown’s work at www.joanclarebrown.com.
