Franchell Mack Brown
FLAGVIBES: a perspective of PERSONHOOD from an-Other American

January 27 - February 18, 2023

Mixed medium includes crocheted ribbons, ropes, cords, freshwater pearls, semiprecious stones, and synthetic hair

Artist Statement

The arts are a vehicle towards peace, balance, and healing.

When art is shared it has collective power.

The state of the world is at a critically pivotal place.

As a creative I have a responsibility to share my talents and help to fuel this vehicle towards what is peaceful, balanced and healing. This is what my work is about.

The journey of FLAGVIBES began in 2020 and encompasses wearable and sculptural objects. They reflect my interpretation of the American flags 13 stripes and 50 stars. The USA was facing a pandemic, rising racial tension and a presidential election. Flags, generally a symbol of a unified nation, have become dissected totems that signal separation and division. My hope is for true unity. My intention is to contribute to the unifying vision by producing work that uplifts, encourages, and empowers.

I am a participant of meticulousness.
I am a delver in details.
Pops of color delight me.
Controlled haphazardness intrigues me.
My work is meditative.
Creating frees me and brings me into a realm of peace and joy.
Repetition in nature resonates with me.
This repetition teaches me that all life is connected energy…
My intention is to share this empowering energy by sharing my art.

— Franchell Mack Brown

Biography

Franchell Mack Brown (born 1962 in Washington, D.C.) is an artist employing an amalgam of materials in her practice. From the pliancy of crocheted ribbon to industrial cording and the solidity of welding, she juxtaposes soft and hard, exploring the dualities of being. Undulating forms and dripping tendrils suggest movement evocative of Nick Cave’s Soundsuits. Color and texture prevail in ecstatic collision, echoing her fascination with Egungun masking traditions and Native American tribal ceremonies. With her background as a jewelry designer, she features semi-precious gemstones, particularly freshwater pearls, in much of her work. The pearl embodies individuality. Each is a unique speck emerging from metamorphosis as an exquisite gem, a metaphor for the development and full expression of self. 

Mack Brown’s upbringing in a family of civil servants who pursued creative avocations alongside their occupations instilled a reverence for honoring the artistic impulse and awe for ingenious problem-solving.

Seeking out pockets of artistic communion and opportunity in other cities, including Chicago, New York, Pennsylvania, Tokyo, Atlanta and Wilmington, she continued to hone her craft.  

Mack Brown entered the New River Community College welding program in 2014. She spent her after-work hours in the campus weld lab, creating those armatures and improving her welding skills. In 2015, as a certified welder, she accepted a position on a crew for a project that took a prototype truck cab to production for Volvo Trucks.

Seeking offers elsewhere, she accepted a lucrative, non-welding creative position in Richmond, VA, where she resides today with her daughter and son, reinvigorated to continue and expand her professional art practice.

Website: FranMackArt.com