Often situated within the drama and darkness of nightlife, Coady Brown’s paintings explore the nuances of moving through the world in a feminized body. Figures rendered with geometric exaggeration assertively dominate the picture plane, brazen in their presence and visibility. Through attention to lighting, vibrant clothing, and high-contrast colors, their inscrutable expressions hint at an unknowable and autonomous selfhood.

Developed from an imagined disco in the ‘70s, this new series of paintings explores the transformative power of the feminine. Applying the feminine as a vehicle for disguise, power, and expression, Brown orchestrates psychologically charged moments that pulse with a sense of mystery and wonder.

“Self-expression is the freedom we give ourselves, the permission to take up space and exist boldly. Clothing, hair, makeup, and accessories empower the figure to express, explore, and possess the freedom to infinitely expand their sense of self.” — Coady Brown

In Super Star, two large faces take up a majority of the canvas, overwhelming the space. One figure glances self-consciously at the other, while the primary figure maintains a steady gaze toward the viewer. Swirls of color and light, hearts, stars, and abstract shapes shift in the atmosphere. A rainbow headscarf becomes a large field of color, while earrings and hairclips act as anchors punctuating the composition. With their bodies out of view, we become lost in what the figures might be thinking, feeling, and experiencing. We are left swimming in their subconsciousness, an independent environment pulled from their psychic space.

With the overturning of Roe V. Wade, Brown reflects on what it must have been like to be a young woman at the time of the original court ruling—when the cultural revolution held the promise of sustained momentum toward liberation, despite having its own dark moments. She shares, “This work has allowed me to reimagine that time and space of possibility, which seems so far from our present. A time when being a woman was a symbol of political significance. How just existing within the feminine held power and autonomy.”