Sally Jane Brown is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and writer whose work investigates the intersections of womanhood, motherhood, and the physical body. Utilizing drawing, painting, and mixed media, Brown has exhibited her work across the United States and the UK, with residencies spanning from the U.S. to Argentina.
As an illustrator, she has collaborated on four books, including the 2026 release Feverdream with poet Renée K. Nicholson. Her award-winning art has appeared in publications such as Creative Mornings and Rogue Agent. Her artwork is also held in public collections, including the University of Nebraska archives, and as public art in Morgantown, West Virginia. Her critical writing has appeared in prominent outlets such as The Conversation and Women’s Art Journal.
Beyond the studio, Sally is an accomplished curator who has organized group exhibitions nationally. Currently serving as the Curator for West Virginia University Libraries, she brings a deep academic background to her practice, holding a BA in Studio Art, an MPA, and an MA in Art History and a graduate certificate in Feminist Theory.
For my full resume, contact me via my contact page. You can also download my current catalog.
Censor the body and you censor breath and speech at the same time.
Write yourself. Your body must be heard.
HÉLÈNE CIXOUS, FROM THE LAUGH OF THE MEDUSA, 1975
Let Me Hear Your Body Talk
by Linda Rosefsky
Sally Jane Brown is an artist who proudly stands on the shoulders of Feminist heroines like French writer and playwrite Hélène Cixous. Her work speaks of the fierce women who have inspired other women to reclaim their bodies, explore their desires, and embrace their identities in a patriarchal society that expects silence rather than expression. With every graceful line and bold imprint, Sally freely celebrates the female form in a manner that can be light and playful, but always intentional.
Because she is both an artist and a writer, scrawling lines of text are sometimes juxtaposed with multi-colored, sensual body prints in the Feminist Tribute Series. To say that this is an artist who puts her whole body and soul into her work would be an understatement. The sweeping gestural curves in Sally’s intriguing compositions are created by pressing her own painted torso to paper, which makes them as authentic and personal as the private thoughts written in a journal.
Over time, elegantly-drawn self-portraits began to appear in Sally’s continually evolving Feminist tributes. Nude figures are placed beside small, iconic references to key works by influencial creators such as Luchita Hurtado, Anne Pratt, and Paula Modersohn-Becker. Instantly and easily recognizable, these motifs deliver candy-like pops of color in a white landscape. The feeling is joyful and at the same time reverent; the respect this artist has for her predecessors and their legacy is eloquently expressed throughout every detail of the series.
Sally’s latest project is Feverdream, a book of poetry by Renée K. Nicholson. Deeply introspective and poignant, the poems are a collection of the reflections of a life set in the rich Appalachian culture of West Virginia. The text is thoughtfully illustrated with Sally’s signature body prints, evocative drawings, and textual elements such as Home, Body, and Seasons. Subtle yet powerful, this dream-like imagery is as lyrical as the prose that inspired it.
Whether experienced as large, dynamic statements or small, humble gestures, Sally’s entire body of work is consistently thought-provoking, relatable, and inspiring; a call to “Write yourself. Your body must be heard.”
Linda Rosefsky is an art historian and curator of an online community, La Vie en Rose, in which women artists are celebrated – with humor.