Reading the Art World: Courtney J. Martin

A conversation with Courtney J. Martin, co-author of the first monograph on celebrated British artist Cecily Brown, one of the most influential painters of our time. In this podcast, Courtney talks about her conversations and studio visits with Cecily that led her to a deeper understanding of the roots of her art and the threads of art history and personal history that underlie her paintings.

I had studied British artists that Cecily had been looking at, and so, as soon as I saw her work, I could see those references. I could see that training. I could see where she was pulling from, both in terms of the medium, but also a kind of fearlessness. - Courtney J. Martin

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Courtney J. Martin is the Paul Mellon Director of the Yale Center for British Art. Previously, she was the Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Dia Art Foundation, taught at Brown University and the University of California, Berkeley and worked at the Ford Foundation. She sits on the boards of the Chinati Foundation, the Center for Curatorial Leadership, Hauser & Wirth Institute and the Henry Moore Foundation.

Brown's symbolic language, exuberant brushwork, rich palette, intense energy, and embrace of the erotic have redefined some of painting's historical canons. We chose this book for our deep appreciation for Cecily Brown’s work who beautifully references historical artwork, while creating something new, bold and fearless. She is a British-born, New York-based artist who rose to prominence in the late 1990s. She established her unique voice within the art sphere by investigating the sensual qualities of oil paint and challenging the conventions of abstraction and figuration.

Cecily Brown, published by Phaidon in 2020, includes art historical essays from Jason Rosenfeld, novelist Francine Prose, and an in-depth interview with Courtney J. Martin.

Order the book here .

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.