The Space Between # 3

An original painting by Adrienne Brown-David

The Space Between # 3

27x25"

Oil on Canvas

There are infinite possibilities that spring into being in every brief moment between one state and another. The moment a new state is entered, all of the other possibilities wink out like a light. What happens in that moment? What does the space between childhood and adulthood look like? Between woman and mother, inspiration and creation, motivation and movement, spirit and body, race and culture? What are the possibilities created there? What is left behind?

This work seeks to explore the infinitesimal moments that bind each stage of change and growth to the next. For black girls and women, these snippets of quiet are often overlooked or overshadowed by larger, more intense life changes. The beauty of that space glitters and fades without notice. This body of work is a celebration of those fleeting, quiet moments of infinite possibility.

About the Artist

Adrienne Brown-David was born in St. Louis, MO. Art has always been a huge part of Adrienne’s life. As a child, her grandmother would keep all of the paper grocery bags for Adrienne to draw on. She drew on the sidewalks with chalk and broken pieces of brick. She made costumes and masks and carved little slivers of used ivory soap into animals in her free time. As she got older her mother noticed that art was something that was going to be a part of Adrienne, so she began to encourage it. She was enrolled in art classes after school and on weekends. Her mother took her to galleries and museums. In high school, all of Adrienne’s electives were art related and after graduation, she went on to spend a year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Though she only stayed for her foundation year, the experience at SAIC had a huge impact on her as an artist.

Adrienne’s confidence grew and her willingness to experiment with styles and mediums flourished. After leaving SAIC, she returned home to St. Louis for a couple of years where she taught after school art classes to kids in the neighborhood and drew regularly on her own. Soon life took Adrienne in a completely different direction and she moved to St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Living there immersed her in an environment that was both familiar and completely foreign. It was the first time that she’d ever lived in a place where she was not a minority. The beauty of the land and the culture impacted her art in a huge way. She began to combine her willingness to experiment with styles and mediums with portraiture of the people around her. This was when she really began to paint. In her time on St. Croix, Adrienne got married and had three children.

Her children added a new element to her artistic style and subject matter. Watching their growth and development as well as their innocence and sense of wonder touched a part of Adrienne that had not been visited since her own childhood. Capturing that innocence and intensity became the main focus of her work. When she was pregnant with her fourth child, she relocated from St. Croix and settled in Mississippi where her experiences were also both familiar and foreign. Today, she lives in a small town in Mississippi with her husband and four children.

This artwork was generously donated by the artist.

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