Charlotte artist featured in NYC gallery show about finding home during COVID

A Charlotte artist is among those featured in a new online exhibition by a New York City gallery.

Several of 25-year-old Dustin Brown’s works are included in the ”Creature Comforts” exhibition by Tchotchke Gallery in New York City.

In a painting Brown calls “Absent,” a beige boot stands next to its pair, which is knocked over, resting on its side in an empty corner of a room. Two yellow flowers with long, limp stems lie on and around them on the floor. On the wall in the background, a red curtain is pushed to one side, revealing life outside: a fence in the same beige set against a dreamy blue sky.

The exhibition explores what it means to feel at home, according to gallery co-founder Danielle Dewar, who’s also a North Carolina native. Inspiration for the show came from the need to visit where we’re from, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both of the gallery’s founders lived in smaller towns before moving to New York. Dewar is from Fayetteville and studied at UNC-Wilmington. Co-founder Marlee Katz, who’s from Wisconsin, consider their home states places of personal solace.

“Family and comfort are imperative to our well-being,” Dewar said, “and with COVID, that’s something I think many people around the world were stripped of for a good chunk of last year.”

NC roots

Dewar and Katz found artists for “Creature Comforts” on Instagram. Other works in the exhibition are by Josiah Ellner, a Wisconsin-based artist.

Dewar had a lot of praise for Brown’s work.

“Brown’s work is very authentic to his background and how his roots are planted in North Carolina,” she said. “That’s why I’m drawn to his work.” Dewar also highlighted his use of color, which she said makes his work approachable — a key reason for Tchotchke Gallery’s opening in July 2020.

For now, the gallery is online only, with pop-up events in person, and plans for a brick-and-mortar location in the future.

Before the gallery approached Brown, he had already begun working on “Absent.”

Though he said that the works aren’t reflective of the pandemic, spending more time at home gave him time to reflect on who he is and where he’s from.

Growing up in the Charlotte area, Brown was first drawn to art through the pages of tattoo-art magazines strewn about his house, which jump-started his love of drawing.

Everyone in his family had tattoos, and he said, “I was interested in all the different styles of tattoos and the permanence of them.”

In ninth grade, he met an artist who owned a gallery and studio space in Gastonia. As he got older, others introduced him to different forms and styles and showed him ways to use color.

An artist by night

During the day, Brown works for a general contractor, and at night he works on his art out of a rented studio space in a church.

“I enjoy working with my hands and being a problem solver,” Brown said. “I didn’t feel fulfilled when I worked for an artist, because it took all of my creative energy away, so now I get to use my creative energy in a different way and leave this and go paint.”

For “Creature Comforts,” Brown said his exploration began with an interest in an internal, personal world not seen but lived.

“The works are pretty personal to me,” he said, adding that “Absent” is an expression of feelings of neglect he and his brother experienced from their father.

“I took moments that I felt were hard, or difficult... transitions in life, and wanted to make something a little more positive out of it,” Brown said.

The exhibition is on view digitally through noon on July 31 at https://tchotchkegallery.com/creaturecomforts.

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