Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
March 9 – May 25, 2025
Surveying three decades of the British painter’s career.
Cecily Brown. Saboteur four times (detail), 2019. Private collection. © Cecily Brown
Adults $30; seniors $28 (tickets good for 2 days); students $5; members free
About the Exhibition
Organized by the Barnes and the Dallas Museum of Art, Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations surveys the pioneering career of Cecily Brown (British, b. 1969), one of the most celebrated artists working in painting today. Presented in the Roberts Gallery, the exhibition features more than 30 paintings and related drawings that showcase Brown’s subversion of gendered tropes in art history and popular culture.
Themes and Variations sheds light on Brown’s practice and considers her work from a feminist perspective. It reveals how she reclaimed the heroic gestural expression associated with male artists of the abstract expressionist generation—largely out of favor with her peers—to create lush, dynamic paintings that often contain erotic content. Moving between figuration and abstraction, her work explores the power imbalances inherent in voyeurism and sexual violence.
Venues
Dallas Museum of Art (September 29, 2024–February 9, 2025)
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (March 9–May 25, 2025)
Exhibition Organization
Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations is co-curated by Simonetta Fraquelli, consultant curator for the Barnes, and Anna Katherine Brodbeck, Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Related Programs
Member Previews
Thursday, March 6–Saturday, March 8, 10 am–5 pm
Members are invited to view Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations before the public opening.
Curators in Conversation
Sunday, March 9, 1 pm
This engaging talk features Themes and Variations curator Simonetta Fraquelli and Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator at the Barnes.
Exhibition Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
Thursday–Monday, beginning March 13
Explore the artist’s lush, dynamic paintings, engagement with art history, and feminist point of view.
Private Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
Thursday–Monday, beginning March 13
This one-hour private tour provides an up-close look at Themes and Variations and some of Brown’s most important works.
Members-Only Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
Thursdays, March 13–May 22, 2–3 pm
This exclusive exhibition tour provides a closer look Brown’s lush and dynamic artworks
Members-Only Online Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
Wednesday, March 26, 2–3 pm
Members are invited to attend an exclusive online exhibition tour.
First Friday
March 7, April 4, May 2; 6–9 pm
Enjoy an evening of art, live music, and light fare on the first Friday of each month, with access to the collection. Our March event features Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra and an exclusive first look at Themes and Variations. V. Shayne Frederick will perform in April and Usiloquy Dance Designs in May.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day
April 6, May 4; 10 am–5 pm
On the first Sunday of every month, the Barnes partners with PECO to offer a free day of family fun. Along with art making, educational activities, and featured performances, the event includes access to the collection and Themes and Variations.
Related Classes
Workshop: Like a Voyage at Sea: Exploring the Work of Cecily Brown
Wednesday, March 26, 10 am–4 pm
Instructor: Stuart Shils
This one-day workshop is a deep dive into the work of Cecily Brown and includes a hands-on art-making session.
Class: Contemporary Art and the Canon: Emulation, Pastiche, Parody
Thursdays, April 3–24, 1–3 pm
Instructor: Paul Galvez
Explore the complex relationship between modern artists and the art of the past.
Sponsors
Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations at the Barnes is sponsored by:
Additional support is provided by the Forman Family Foundation, Marsha and Jeffrey Perelman, Carlo Bronzini Vender, Anonymous, and other generous individuals.
Ongoing funding for exhibitions comes from the Christine and Michael Angelakis Exhibition Fund, the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, the Lois and Julian Brodsky Exhibition Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Christine and George Henisee Exhibition Fund, the Aileen and Brian Roberts Exhibition Fund, and the Tom and Margaret Lehr Whitford Exhibition Fund.
The exhibition publication is made possible with generous support provided by the Lois and Julian Brodsky Publications Fund.
In addition, funding for all exhibitions comes from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund:
Joan Carter and John Aglialoro, Julia and David Fleischner, Victoria McNeil Le Vine, Leigh and John Middleton, Jeanette and Joe Neubauer
John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Lois and Julian Brodsky, N. Judith Broudy, Elaine W. Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Marianne N. Dean, Eugene and Michelle Dubay, Penelope P. Harris, Jones & Wajahat Family, Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden, Victor F. Keen and Jeanne Ruddy, Marguerite Lenfest, Maribeth and Steven Lerner, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, The Park Family, Wendy and Mark Rayfield, Anne and Bruce Robinson, Adele K. Schaeffer, Katie and Tony Schaeffer, Donna and Jerry Slipakoff, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Joan F. Thalheimer, Bruce and Robbi Toll, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, Kirsten White, Randi Zemsky and Bob Lane, Anonymous.