Co-organized by the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati and The Phillips Collection, the exhibition draws upon previously unknown works and archival findings, recovering the depth and variety of the more than three-decade career of Vivian Browne (b. 1929, Laurel, FL; d. 1993, New York, NY). The exhibition features paintings, prints, and works on paper across seven bodies of work, as well as ephemera that highlight Browne’s pioneering activism and influential teaching career. Browne was a founder of the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition, an organization that fought for Black representation in New York museums; a founder of SoHo20, one of the first women’s art cooperatives in Manhattan; and a professor at Rutgers University (1971–92). Her signature approach to color and form challenged the neatly defined categories of abstraction and figuration, and art and politics, revealing a more nuanced approach to art-making that is part of Browne’s unique contribution to 20th-century art of the US.
Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest
- Institution
- The Phillips Collection
- Grant Cycle
- Spring 2024
- Amount
- $100,000
- Type of Grant
- Exhibition Support

Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Vivian Browne ,Oaks, 1984. Acrylic on canvas, 61-1/2 x 144-1/4 inches total . Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Vivian Browne, Clear Particles Floating Free, 1982. Acrylic on silk and pastel on paper, 60 x 132 inches total. Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Vivian Browne, : San Joaquin/Diaresis, 1992. Oil on canvas, 80 x 38 inches. Installation view, Vivian Browne: My Kind of Protest. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2025. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH.
See Also
“Isn’t life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?”
Andy Warhol