S. Ross Browne

My work uses allegory to explore the collective journeys of people of the diaspora, challenging ideas around identity, power, race, and self-actualization. Drawing from history, mythology, and imagined narratives, I create classical pictorial representations that complicate familiar depictions of diasporic people. Through contrasting narratives and symbolism hidden in plain sight, the work questions racial archetypes, historical misrepresentation, and the weaponization of race.

More recently, my paintings have explored psychological and metaphysical journeys toward the higher self. Alongside histories of brutality, alienation, and societal apathy, I introduce symbols of forgiveness, love, and compassion.

Through realism, symbolism, and both archaic and contemporary imagery, I seek to create allegories that reveal themselves over time, allowing meaning to shift with each viewing and ultimately pointing toward personal transformation and self-actualization.

BLOODLINE, 2023

46.5 × 25.5 in

Oil on wood

Price upon request