Enter into the intimate, playful and surreal work of Gloucester native, Kyle Browne. Her solo exhibition, Seaworthy Seductions: A Taste of Intimacy is inspired by seafood platters, sailors’ valentines and the enduring imagination of the sea. The basis of Browne’s mixed media work is reconnecting to an innate wildness that she believes exists within us all. Her pieces, ranging from intimate sculptures to large-scale paintings, are her love letters to the ocean.
Kyle explores themes of consumption and the feminine through her rich colored pencil drawings, Rewilding, which are reminiscent of naturalist illustrations, yet surprising and subversive upon closer observation. She interweaves human forms into natural objects to ask the viewer to contend with their own vulnerabilities through the metaphor of sensual and raw seafood platters. Think finger shrimp, licking limpets and bivalves with femme anatomy. For her participatory installation Shucked Raw, Serve Yourself she invites visitors to create and contemplate her delectables, into their own personal raw bar plate – since eating a raw oyster is perhaps the closest thing humans can do to consummate their relationship with the sea.
Kyle’s love of the ocean began as a small child growing up in Gloucester, MA, surrounded by the ebb and flow of the tide. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, NYC, and MEd from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. She has been an arts educator in the Greater Boston area for over 10 years, and lives and works in Chelsea, MA. Find out more about her at kylebrowne.com and follow her on IG @kybrocreative
Seaworthy Seductions: A Taste of Intimacy at The Gallery at Spencer Lofts, 60 Dudley St. Chelsea, MA, runs through June 11, and is open by appointment with the artist. Closing reception is June 4, from 3-7pm, with an artist panel at 4 p.m. This project is funded in part by the Chelsea Cultural Council.