Artist S. Ross Browne at his Hull street studio (Photo by Megan Irwin)
On a stifling day, sunrays like fingers pressing heavy on my back, the interior of S. Ross Browne’s studio is a shady oasis. Besides the coolness, a certain calmness pervades the space, a fitting atmosphere for the soft-spoken artist, clad in breezy white attire and sandals, his smile a bit shy, his brown eyes sure.
A fine artist, Browne has lived and worked in Richmond for several decades and exhibited his drawings and paintings in galleries nationwide. Having lived a years-long stint in Jackson Ward, he now calls historic Manchester home. The “good energy” is what encouraged Browne to lease the two-room studio space inside this 100-year-old structure on Hull Street; its classic aesthetic charm didn’t hurt, either. Though it's technically not a gallery, Browne does present exhibitions there, including “Quintessence,” the current showing by Ohio-born contemporary artist Stephanie Kia, running through July 16 (with a possible extension). The collection features oil and acrylic paintings of black people, depicted in an ethereal, radiant fashion; her style evokes the “majestic essence” of African-Americans, she says in a release about the exhibition, a departure from the negative images of black people often propagated in the news media.
Browne’s own creations stare out from the studio walls: The first one I notice is a portrait of a girl in a white frock, her hand resting on the head of an alligator encircling her body. Short black braids frame her small face; her expression says, “I’m in danger, but I’m not afraid.” The painting, seen above, "A forgotten allegory of souls (Hye-wo-mhye, Eban & Owuo Atwedee)," is Browne’s powerful reimagining of postcards and advertisements from the Jim Crow era, which depicted black children as “alligator bait.” There’s a sense of muted grandeur evident in several of his works, which feature Renaissance-style oil portraits of black women in elaborate lace collars and intricately beaded headpieces. In his studies of art history at The Miller School of Albemarle County and at Virginia Commonwealth University, Browne noted that African-Americans often “weren’t represented respectfully, aesthetically,” he says. In many 15th- and 16th-century masterpieces by men such as Michelangelo and commissioned by the likes of the Medicis, black people were usually cast as background characters or servants, or they were absent altogether. Browne’s classical-style paintings offer a juxtaposition of perception. “I show black people as rulers, empowered people,” Browne says. “By adding atypical images in my painting, I force the narrative to change. I lead the viewer to question their own perception and, perhaps, their own bias.”
Browne names several of his contemporaries as significant contributors to Richmond’s thriving art culture. “We’ve got [father and son painters] Jerome and Jeromyah Jones, Sir James Thornhill, Hamilton Glass, Sonya Clark — these people are all very accomplished, extremely talented professional artists.” He disfavors the label of “black artist”; what is the need and motive of such a label? “When is the last time you heard someone introduced as ‘white artist so-and-so?’ I think, sometimes, the label ‘black artist’ is used to limit or box in the artistry, and that’s unacceptable. And, artists who are black ... are multidimensional, not monolithic.”
Browne also teaches biweekly therapeutic art classes at his studio. Students create mandalas, circular figures often featuring geometric patterns, which represent the universe in ancient Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Browne's five-year MCV stint teaching patients art therapy inspired the idea. “Painting mandalas [relieves] stress, and [reveals] our priorities, our fears and that which we hold dear. And doing it in a group is, frankly, fun.”
Learn more about S. Ross Browne and his craft at srossbrowne.com.
