Lauren Powell Presents:
~ Braxton Congrove ~
Quarantined Works OF Paper
Braxton Congrove’s work creates ethereal dreams of an ideal world full of playful, fuzzy memories. Her sculptures feel like hugs from old friends, or the passing of the perfect technicolor cloud - weightless & full of hope. In March, Braxton’s studio closed due to Covid and she was forced to move her practice into her apartment. The space restraints from quarantine forced her to rethink her traditional scale and material choices, leading to a more sustainable way of working including casting papier-mâché reliefs over clay . Additionally, her often larger-than-life work was adapted down to a more intimate and practical scale, accessible for both our homes and in sharing with friends & family. We may be forced to be distanced, but this new body of work allows a piece of her to live with her loved ones until we are reunited again. It’s so important to remind ourselves to play & breathe and these soft, colorful pieces do exactly that. See more of Braxton’s work at: https://braxtoncongrove.com/ .
Braxton Congrove (b. 1991) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BFA from James Madison University and attended the Virginia Commonwealth University Summer Studio Program in sculpture. She has presented solo exhibitions at Random Access Gallery (Syracuse University, NY), Valet (Richmond, VA), and IA&A at Hillyer (Washington, DC). Her work has been included in group exhibitions at ADA Gallery (Richmond, VA), Disjecta (Portland, OR), and Governor’s Island (New York, NY), among others, and featured in Dialogue Magazine and the Washington Post. Residencies include Ox-Bow (Saugatuck, MI), Bread and Puppet Theater (Glover, VT), and c3:Initiative (Portland, OR). Braxton is a recipient of the 2018 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship and 2019 Vermont Studio Center Residency Fellowship.