Deborah Brown

Deborah Brown (born 1927) is a Northern Irish sculptor. She is well known in Ireland for her pioneering exploration of the medium of fibre glass in the 1960s and has established herself as one of the country's leading sculptors, achieving extensive international acclaim.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Brown became fascinated with nature during childhood years spent in Cushendun in the Glens of Antrim (which inspired her Sheep on the Road sculpture). Living there during World War II, she studied landscape painting at Belfast College of Art in 1946 then enrolled at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in 1947. After three years studying in Dublin she continued her studies in Paris, where she entered the abstract art movement flourishing there. Her works have ranged from fibre glass sculptures to swirling geometric portraits.

In 1982 a major retrospective of her work was held in the Ulster Museum and the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. Her first solo exhibition was at the CEMA Gallery in Belfast in 1951. Since then she has had one person shows in Ireland, England, Scotland and Canada and exhibits at the Shambles Gallery, Hillsborough, County Down and the Solomon Gallery, Dublin. In 2002 she had two exhibitions: Through the Rock at Cavanacor Gallery, Lifford and Cast in Nature at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, curated by Marianne O’Kane. Her work is included in many collections in Ireland and abroad, including the Ulster Museum, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Bank of Ireland, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin and the Arts Council.

Brown studied at the Belfast College of Art and later at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and briefly in Paris.

• Sheep on the Road (1991), Life-size bronze, originally commissioned by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their sculpture garden at Riddell Hall, Belfast. In 1999 it was purchased by Laganside Corporation, after relocation of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and relocated to the entrance to the Waterfront Hall, Lanyon Place, Belfast.

• 1993 Deborah Brown: The Works Gallery, Costa Mesa , CA “Kustom Grafix: Fine Art From the Underground”
• 1994 Deborah Brown: Mark Moore Gallery, Santa Monica , CA “Year I:A Survey.”
• 1994 Deborah Brown: SITE, Los Angeles , CA “The Graduate”
• 1994 Deborah Brown: Rio Honda College, Whittier, CA “Playfield” Curated by Randy Sommers
• 1994 Deborah Brown: James Corcoran Gallery, Santa Monica , CA“Animal Farm”
• 1995 Deborah Brown: Muckenthaller Cultural Center, Fullerton , CA “From Behind The Orange Curtain”
• 1995 Deborah Brown: Cal State University, Fullerton Main Art Gallery, Fullerton , CA “Confronting Nature: Silenced Voices”
• 1995 Deborah Brown: Bernard Toal Gallery, Boston , MA “Plastic” Curated by Nancy Doll
• 1995 Deborah Brown: Southern Exposure, San Francisco , CA “Lo-Cal” Curated by Marisa Hernandez
• 1995 Deborah Brown: Cerritos College Fine Arts Gallery, Norwalk , CA “In Excess” Curated by Marilu Knode
• 1996 Deborah Brown: Threadwaxing Space, NY “Romper Room” Curated by Danielle Cheng"Nancy Grossman: Fire Fields", The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center
• 2005 Deborah Brown: Henry Art Gallery, Seattle , WA “Playtime”
• 2006 Deborah Brown: Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA “From the Island of Misfit Toys”
• 2007 Deborah Brown: Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID "Remix"
• 2010 Deborah Brown: The Empire, London "Hot"
• 2014 Deborah Brown: BFAMI Auction, Phillips London and Paddle
• 2015 Deborah Brown: Royal Academy London, Summer Exhibition

• Sheep on the Road (1991), Life-size bronze, originally commissioned by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their sculpture garden at Riddell Hall, Belfast. In 1999 it was purchased by Laganside Corporation, after relocation of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and relocated to the entrance to the Waterfront Hall, Lanyon Place, Belfast.