Michael Brown's 'Keep On Truckin'' Retrospective at Marc Straus

The Marc Straus gallery in New York is currently showcasing 'Keep On Truckin'', a solo retrospective dedicated to the works of American artist Michael Brown. This exhibition highlights nearly twenty years of Brown's artistic journey, contrasting his early sculptural pieces from the mid-2000s with a fresh collection of paintings created exclusively for this event. The title is a nod to R. Crumb's famous 1968 comic 'Keep On Truckin'', which first appeared in Zap Comix and became emblematic of American counterculture. Inspired by Blind Boy Fuller's song 'Truckin' My Blues Away', Crumb's cartoon illustrates a line of men traversing diverse landscapes. Brown, a tattoo artist, reinterprets this theme into a new icon. The exhibition prominently features three new oil stick paintings showcasing a cartoon figure, emphasizing Brown's transition from sculpture to painting and his connection to popular culture and folklore.