Ruby Brown
Biography
Ruby Brown is a visual artist of Māori (Ngāpuhi iwi) and Pakeha (Scottish and Danish) heritage using her textural mix-media practice to renew connection to body and place. Growing up on the coast of Ōtepoti Dunedin in Aotearoa/New Zealand, her mum –a painter– and dad –always making something with his hands– encouraged young Ruby to explore her ideas through creative projects. As life went on, she graduated with a Bachelor of Education from Otago University. Then, after moving to Melbourne/Naarm, she completed a Graduate Certificate of Visual Art at the Victorian College of the Arts. She continued her practice, leaning into the interpersonal; while working as a carer for creatives she forged relationships that still impact her artwork today. Ruby balances the relational with the introspective, holding space for personal invention and experimentation and leaning away from restrictive rules. Within this, she plays with sensation using found objects to awaken fresh perspectives. She has exhibited and developed this growing body of work across artist-run and commercial galleries and residencies at spaces like Craft Contemporary, Sutton Projects and Bus Projects. Various private Australia, Aotearoa and Europe–based collections have acquired her pieces. Moving forward, she plans to bring dance, poetry and photography in as mediums –aligning with her experiential intentions.