Instagram story viewer> @lex_brown_> Posts

Lex Brown

@lex_brown_

4K

followers

1853

following

Artist making opera, painting, and spaces.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Deeply moving essay by @sarahazizawrites. Thank you @alexisrmorin for sending. I have been looking for these words for months “Our work as witnesses is to be marked; we should not leave it unscathed. We must make an effort to stay with what we see, allowing ourselves to be cut. This wound is essential. Into this wound, imagination may pour—not to invade the other’s subjectivity, but to awaken awe at the depth, privacy, and singularity of each life…The witness is the one who holds the line of reality, identifying and refusing the lie of normalcy. Broken by what we see, we become rupture incarnate.” by @lex_brown_

137

2

3 years ago

⁣
Lex Brown: 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯⁣
On view at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts⁣
⁣
Through paintings and a feature-length musical video, Lex Brown follows three elemental archetypes as they navigate media overload, impending disaster, and the surreal absurdities of contemporary life.⁣
⁣
📍 Patricia Reser Center for the Arts⁣
12625 SW Crescent St, Beaverton⁣
🗓 Through October 17⁣
🕐 Wed – Sat, 12–6 PM⁣
⁣
𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘛𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘶, 𝘕𝘰𝘸 is open across 16 venues citywide, with 28 artists and 17 new commissions. Free and open to the public. Curated by @lumit⁣
⁣📸 @mariogalluccistudio ⁣
⁣⁣ taken in Patricia Reser Center for the Arts by @lex_brown_

3

3

23 days ago

Portland, OR ! 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓷 opens this Friday at the Reser Art Gallery for Converge45 and will be on view until October 18. A lot has changed in the world in 3 years; I’m excited to show this work again after its first installation at the MIT List Center and see how its themes play out today. Carnelian will open alongside the exhibitions and performances of 27 artists from Portland and beyond for this citywide triennial curated by Lumi Tan.

——
Carnelian is an eclectic musical-film and companion set of four paintings, each corresponding with a chapter in the film: Dawn, Afternoon, Dusk, and Night.

In the paintings, texts with double meanings question the expectations of linear technological progress, status, and achievement that we hold from bygone eras. Depicted as color-saturated, trompe l’oeil stone engravings, the paintings point to how we fictionalize the very notion of “the past,” and are often only able to relate to it in a symbolic, disembodied way.

In the film, three allegorical figures – Necyria, Bicyclus, and Orachrysops – await the imminent arrival of a cataclysmic event: “the Boom.” Over the course of 8 songs, each character examines their own definition of power, whether it be natural, political, or technological. Carnelian contends with the humanity we find in the face of an unknown future.

Music co-composed by Samuel Beebe
Image: Ciani Barclay as Necyria, by Bob Sweeney
@converge_45 @lumit @sambeeebeee @reserartscenter by @lex_brown_

63

3

2 months ago

A peek at Project Creatine’s premiere at @icaboston
Act I Scene 2 “Hellhole Ratrace”
—————————

Concept by Creatine Price and Lex Brown
Libretto by Lex Brown
Music by Samuel Beebe
Performed by Creatine Price
Featuring Pianist Danny Zelibor
Sound Designer: Samuel Beebe
Music Director: Danny Zelibor
Scenic Painter, Set & Lighting Designer: Lex Brown
Costume Designer: Creatine Price
Costume Makers: Yaya Torres & Creatine Price
Special Voiceover: Marianna James, Leah Hawkins
Production Consultant: David Bruin

Curated by John Andress
Associate Curator Shane Silverstein
Produced by Samuel Beebe & Lex Brown and ICA/Boston
ICA Production Manager: Dani Abugattas
ICA Production: Kevin Cornett, Ae_Jee Booth, Eliezer Meraz, Brittani Fletcher, Em McGrory, Jo Williams, Bernadette Benoit, Brittany Trymbulak
Scenic Fabricator: Jesse Cannon
Stage Manager: Jolie Frazer-Madge
Sound Operator: Melika Shirani
Projection Operator: Abbey Diana Engelmann
Videography: Sabine Bou Jouade
Photography: Shane Godfrey by @lex_brown_

46

3

3 months ago

⁣
𝐋𝐞𝐱 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 (Rome, IT) utilizes video and performance to interrogate the absurdities of late capitalism. For the 2026 C45 Triennial, she presents Carnelian, an expansive installation of paintings and video at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. Conceived as a feature-length musical, the video follows three elemental archetypes—representing fire, air, and earth—as they navigate a sensory deluge of media while awaiting an impending disaster. Through a sophisticated blend of poetic satire and original music, the project investigates a contemporary world defined by "emergency overload," polarizing rhetoric, and the existential threat of extinction.

⁣
Friday August 28⁣
⁣
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM | 𝐋𝐞𝐱 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧: Carnelian Artist Talk & Opening Reception⁣
⁣
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 SW Crescent St, Beaverton, OR ⁣
⁣
Artist talk at 4:00 PM⁣
⁣
Lex Brown, Carnelian (video still), 2023 video. ⁣
Courtesy of the artist. ⁣
⁣
𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘛𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 16 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 27–30, 2026. 28 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 17 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤. 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘓𝘶𝘮𝘪 𝘛𝘢𝘯. ⁣
⁣
#Converge45 #HereToYouNow taken in Patricia Reser Center for the Arts by @lex_brown_

3

0

3 months ago

Act I, Scene 1 “Nameless”

Project Creatine
—————————
Concept by Creatine Price and Lex Brown
Libretto by Lex Brown
Music by Samuel Beebe
Performed by Creatine Price
Featuring Pianist Danny Zelibor by @lex_brown_

46

0

4 months ago

My set design for Project Creatine, which was created on Rhino and fabricated @j.axe Throughout the show, Créatine moves through a coffee shop, bedroom, nightclub, island cliff, a courtroom, and metaphysical plane. A monochrome, modular set lets all these spaces coexist believably in a one-woman show without them either being too real or too fictional.

The jagged edges are like cliffs, torn pages, or fragmented memory. The exposed lines on the flats and transparent fabric give dimension and structure while keeping it versatile.

When Créatine falls deeper into the relationship with Romeo, she wears a robe that matches the powder/French blue of the apartment. I wanted it to feel like she was becoming part of the house (the dreaded Yellow Wallpaper), and when she gets pulled into the central landscape painting, it’s both as a dream and nightmare. by @lex_brown_

85

2

4 months ago

Shane Silverstein, we love you. Thanks to you and John Andress, the Bill T. Jones Director and Curator of Performing Arts at the ICA/Boston, for stewarding our project through many months of hard times in the arts. We were super proud to learn that Project Creatine is the first ever opera to grace the waterfront at the Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater. ✨ taken in The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston by @lex_brown_

22

1

4 months ago

A moment of my set design, lighting design, and scenic painting all coming together on stage.

Créatine passes through the painting at different moments — in romantic ecstasy; in a traumatic exchange; and in a rebirth. They open both inward and outward, the back side side reflecting the audience in a mirrored mosaic. The painting depicts the allegorical journey she’s on towards the precipice, a motif that we echo on vertical levels through the go-go platform, the island cliff, and the witness stand in court. taken in The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston by @lex_brown_

62

6

4 months ago

Can’t thank the @projectcreatineopera team enough for an incredible journey in the run-up to our sold out show @icaboston ! These artists give so much of themselves in pursuit of the highest levels of their crafts. They are truly bound for glory!

Chanteuse @creatineprice
Pianist @dzelibor
Libretto, set, lights @lex_brown_
Music, sound @sambeeebeee

Also, thanks to our incredible crew:
Stage Manager @jolie.frazer
Set Construction by Jesse Cannon
Projection Op @abbey.diana.engelmann
Sound Op @melikashiranie

Special thanks to:
@davidbruin from @celebrationbarntheater

And to ICA folks:
@shane.levi
@jandressssss
and especially Dani Abugattas

And to all the folks who turned out to support us - we thank you all 🩵🩵🩵 taken in The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston by @lex_brown_

183

14

4 months ago

Beyond happiness. Wonder, awe, gratitude, humility… elation that @sambeeebeee and I get to write for @creatineprice and @dzelibor

To have our words and music interpreted and elevated by world class performing artists is the biggest honor. And wow 😍🔥 is it a thrill to watch. This piece is a huge mountain for us to climb, but we climb it together. Last night we finally got a view of how far we’ve come. by @lex_brown_

127

6

4 months ago

Today is a very special day. It’s the premiere of Project Creatine! We’ve been incredibly busy this last week bringing together this major new work of opera. We look forward to continuing development with our Creative Capital Award.

It’s been an incredible honor to work with Sam, Creatine, and Danny — three formidable artists whose brilliant minds have pushed me to write the longest and most challenging piece I’ve ever written. Writing opera is a unique process because the words don’t just tell a story, they have to be sung, sound believable, sound beautiful, and paint a picture before your eyes. The story you’ll see tonight has many elements of reality, and some of heightened fiction. It represents pieces of the four of us as artists. The ICA is the perfect place to bring an innovative project like Project Creatine to its first stage, and we’re so thrilled to do so in the beautiful Barbara Lee Foundation Theater.

We extend a huge thanks to Shane Silverstein for shepherding our process of working with the ICA over the last year, and to John Andress for curating us into the season. We also want to thank our production team Dani Abugattas, Bernie, AG, Kevin, Jo, Britney and Em at the ICA. And on our internal team, Jolie Frazer-Madge, Melika Shirani, Abbey Diana Engelmann, Jesse Cannon, Sabine Bou Jouade, Nerissa Cooney, Ethan Schlett, and David Bruin.

And a big, big thanks from me to Jesse Cannon for building the set. Jesse has been a hero these last couple weeks and it’s a special treat to get to see my set plans realized for the stage.

The project is a mountain and we’re going to keep climbing. It’s a joy to be here. Tell everyone you know in Boston to get their tickets before they sell out. It will be a memorable night! 🥂 by @lex_brown_

128

5

4 months ago