Cecily Brown is a British painter who combines figuration and abstraction in her large, gestural works. Inspired by artists like Willem de Kooning, Brown expands upon the principles of Abstract Expressionism, describing her process as a type of performance wherein her brushstrokes and movements are visible as part of the unfinished work. Red Rum, 2001 is emblematic of the forces of nature, and the ways in which humans interact with the environment–a cycle of chaos, violence, beauty, growth, and destruction.

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