In Circulations, Linda Leslie Brown’s sculptures explore the transformative exchanges between nature, objects, and the viewer’s creative perception. The works are rich with allusions to the body, while simultaneously evoking a new, transgenic nature—one where corporeal and mechanical entities merge and recombine. The sculptures suggest a world that is both fluid and uncertain, where the boundaries between organic and synthetic are porous and ever-shifting. Many of the pieces are intimate in scale, not much larger than a human head and shoulders, inviting a close, personal engagement that is both delightful and unsettling.

Brown’s more recent works introduce plantlike, tentacular forms to her formal vocabulary, though she traces their origins back to her undergraduate years. This new body of work both recapitulates and deepens earlier forms and obsessions, reflecting the continuity and evolution of her artistic practice.

The primary materials in these pieces are ceramic clay and underglazes. Brown has long been captivated by the responsive, tactile nature of wet clay—the way it yields to her touch, carrying both thought and intention. The process of shaping clay emphasizes folding, squeezing, and collapsing, mirroring the work’s themes of transformation and impermanence. Many of the sculptures are assemblages, incorporating fragments of discarded materials that seem random yet are carefully chosen for their potential to contribute to the overall narrative of the work.

Humble in affect, Brown’s work deliberately turns away from overt gestures of mastery or polish. Instead, it speaks through a language of bending, breaking, and mending. Discontinuity and disruption are intrinsic to the making process, and these sculptures bear the traces of physical destruction, as if they have endured and withstood the forces that threatened to pull them apart. Yet within this fragility, there is humor: a flickering smile at the collapsed forms, a recognition of their resilience. The sculptures present themselves as entities that persist—clinging, broken, but still thriving. The looping shapes suggest the continuous flow of life force energy, circulating through both the works and the viewer’s perception.

Artist Bio

Linda Leslie Brown is a multidisciplinary artist based in Boston, Massachusetts. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, she earned a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and an MA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Brown studied painting with Natalie Alper and ceramics with Bill Wyman and David Davidson. In addition to her artistic practice, Brown has had a distinguished career as an educator, serving as Tenured Professor and Foundation Studio Program Director at the New England School of Art & Design (NESAD) at Suffolk University.

Her work spans a range of mediums, including drawing, ceramic sculpture, installation, painting, and mixed media. Brown's work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, including Wheelock College (Boston, MA), AMP Gallery (Provincetown, MA), Popop Studios Gallery (Nassau, Bahamas), the Art Museum of the University of Houston (TX), the Center for Experimental Photographic Art (Buffalo, NY), The Gallery @ Green Street (Jamaica Plain, MA), and the Silvermine Arts Center (New Canaan, CT).