Nancy Brooks Brody at Fortnight Institute / NY

Nancy Brooks Brody
Book Marks
April 12 – May 6, 2018
F O R T N I G H T I N S T I T U T E

60 East 4th St. NYC


All images are Courtesy of Fortnight Institute.


Fortnight Institute is pleased to present, Book Marks,
a solo exhibition by New York artist, Nancy Brooks Brody. Brody’s bright,
colorful, bold paintings are a buoyant presence after a long grey winter. In
the current landscape of digital dissemination, the display of hand-crafted,
individually painted bookmarks feels progressive and explicit. Books are
learning tools, bound recordings of experiences; bookmarks track location, mark
time, space, and hold place.
Brody’s Book Marks both measure and divide space,
suggesting bodies, rhythm, and other nonlinguistic communication systems. Despite
the distinct formal structure inherent in each work, there is a fluidity among
them: between colors, shapes and intricate lines. The colors are intuitive relationships,
each one leading to the next: middle grey, citrus, mescaline, jaws, mt.
everest, sand, dolphin blue, jade, ballet slipper, gumdrop, apricot and sea
glass. Thoughtful observation of the work reveals the artist’s systematic
approach to each piece: no recurring compositions of color can be found across
the 100 Book Marks installed within the gallery.
As with her Book Marks, Brody’s meticulous
skillfulness is present within all of her work, including her embedded
geometric abstractions, called Color Forms, which utilize architecture,
construction and line. In contrast to the embedded work, however, the Book
Marks offer accessibility – another mainstay and core value of her practice.
Brody’s Book Marks measure 9 x 1 1/2 inches and are handpainted using enamel on
300 lb cotton paper — signed on verso. Each Book Mark is both an object to be
framed, displayed, or carried and used as a functional tool. In either case,
affordability is central to its premise and stands as a sign of political
access. They hold space individually or can be arranged in sets or groups,
which can be determined by the viewer.
Nancy Brooks Brody (b. 1962 in New York, NY) lives and
works in Brooklyn, NY.