"My roots are in pottery as I was trained in a rigorous traditional apprenticeship in clay in Japan. In my practice, for the first year, I was required to make 1000’s of sake cups, only cups, never firing any of them. Not only did this teach me about how to prepare the clay, use the tools, throw a cup on the wheel, dry and trim the cup, but it developed in me an intuitive connection to the clay. "
Joy Brown has exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Hospitals and schools in the U.S. and Japan have commissioned her three-dimensional wall installations. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Art News, House and Garden, and Ceramics Monthly. In 1998, she co-founded Still Mountain Center, a nonprofit arts organization that fosters East-West artistic exchange. In 2003, Joy received the Ruth Steinkraus-Cohen Memorial Outstanding Women of Connecticut Award. Her works on Broadway are the result of a long time collaboration with Morrison Gallery, and Purple Roof Gallery and Atelier who have supported and fabricated her work, in Shanghai.
The influence of the Japanese aesthetic on Joy’s ceramic and bronze sculpture springs from her childhood in Japan and apprenticeship in traditional Japanese ceramics. The rounded forms and natural materials of clay and bronze convey the heavy gravity of stone; the expressions and gestures transcend that weight, suggesting warmth, and lightness of being.
On May 17, 2017, the Broadway Mall Association celebrates its 30th anniversary with the opening of Joy Brown on Broadway, a sculpture exhibition, organized in cooperation with Morrison Gallery, Kent, CT and NYC Parks, of nine bronze works on the green malls at the center of Broadway from 72nd to 168th Street.
Morrison Gallery and Joy Brown exhibit a series of nine monumental bronze figures for the first time in the US. Joy Brown's rounded forms convey the heavy gravity of stone; the expressions and gestures transcend that weight, suggesting warmth and lightness of being. Simplicity of the forms and the earth-toned patina evoke a feeling of stillness and peace. The influence of the Japanese aesthetic on her sculpture springs from her childhood in Japan and apprenticeship in traditional Japanese ceramics.