ARTICLE 5 minutes

Joy Brown - Recliner with Head in Hands

September 11, 2025

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Joy Brown: The Recliner

Meet "Recliner with Head in Hands" — a 10-foot-long, 1,200 pound bronze sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Joy Brown.

Known worldwide for her rounded, human-like figures, Brown's work embodies quiet warmth, playful spirit, and a monumental yet approachable presence.

"My figures speak to me of that peaceful place in myself — calm, open, aware," Brown reflects.  Her art carries the imprint of her childhood in Japan and the discipline of her apprenticeship in traditional Japanese wood-fired ceramics.  For more than 40 years, working with clay has challenged and nurtured her, shaping an aesthetic grounded in simplicty, beauty, and process.  Over time, her practice as expanded from vessels and animal forms to the human-scale bronzes and abstract wall reliefs she creates today.

For the past two decades, Brown has also been working in bronze, most recently producing larger-than-life figures in China for public spaces.  Her forms — whether in clay or bronze — offer a tangible expression of an evolving inner life, rooted in the intimate relationship between artist, material, and fire.

This serene, reclining figure invites you to pause, smile, and stay awahile.  We are honored to host this remarkable piece on loan throught the end of the 2025 season.  Visit https://www.joybrownstudio.com to see more of Joy's monumental works.

Kathleen Laucius
Senior Director of Creative and Art Curator at Omega