Explore the exhibition
Room 1
The vast science fiction paintings in this room envelop the viewer with such scale and detail that their potential reality becomes almost plausible. The Loves of Shepherds (after 'Doublestar' by Tony Roberts) and Böcklin's Tomb (copied from 'Floating Cities' 1981 by Chris Foss) are unusual for Brown in that they are based upon paintings made specifically to be reproduced and reduced in scale – their originals versions were commissioned to illustrate the covers of popular science fiction novels. By enlarging them so dramatically, Brown merges the conventions of science fiction illustration with the spectacle of large-scale history or landscape painting by artists such as Jacques-Louis David and J.M.W. Turner. Brown establishes a natural connection between different disciplines, genres and subjects, allowing them to slide with ease from one existence and interpretation into another. The other paintings in this room, a portrait after Frank Auerbach, a foot after Adolf Menzel, a sublime landscape from a John Martin painting, could all inhabit the fantasy worlds of space.
Works in this room
- The Riches of the Poor 2003
Oil on panel
134 x 82 cm (51.9 x 32.2 in)
Collection John L Townsend III, Greenwich - War and Peace 2009
Oil on panel
116 x 87 cm (45.7 x 34.3 in)
Collection the artist - The Tragic Conversion of Salvador Dalí (after John Martin) 1998
Oil on canvas
222 x 323 cm (87.4 x 127.1 in)
Private Collection - Böcklin's Tomb (copied from 'Floating Cities' 1981 by Chris Foss) 1998
Oil on canvas
221 x 330 cm (87 x 129.9 in)
The Sander Collection - The Aesthetic Poor (for Tim Buckley) after John Martin 2002
Oil on canvas
220 x 333 cm (86.6 x 131.1 in)
Zabludowicz Collection - The Loves of Shepherds (after 'Doublestar' by Tony Roberts) 2000
Oil on canvas
219.5 x 336 cm (86.4 x 132.2 in)
Collection Nouvion-Rey