Functioning as a mirror to the human condition, Justin seeks to transcend visual aesthetics with his work. Drawing from his own experiences, he delves into the human psyche, exploring emotions, traumas, vulnerabilities, and the myriad of ways individuals navigate/attempt to escape to or from their inner worlds. Through his work, he strives to evoke emotions, provoke introspection, and capture facets of the human experience as viewed through a combination of modern society and my mind’s eye.

Throughout the years as an artist, he’s discovered that his subjects and themes evolve in parallel with his personal growth. It’s a fascinating journey of self-discovery, marked by the realization that many aspects of life lie beyond our control. As a means of reconciliation with this understanding, his artwork has evolved to include elements of technology, medicine, self-medication and spirituality, tools often used as coping mechanisms in the absence of self-empowerment, tropes harnessed by the population to make sense of and structure their lives. These elements seamlessly weave through his images, serving as potent tools to grapple with the intricate interplay between the human experience and the unfathomable forces that shape our existence. his work is a harmonious blend of the ethereal and the tangible, a quest to find peace within the enigmatic aspects of our reality that often elude our grasp.

Justin Brooks has channeled the years of professional training he received from his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute and Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art, into an established artistic practice. To date, Brooks has exhibited extensively with Stone Sparrow NYC as well as Christie’s and has been featured in publications such as Hyperallergic.

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Education

New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

Masters of Fine Arts, Painting 2019

 

Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting 2009

 

Selected Exhibitions

2024

  • Inside Job 2024, Christie’s New York, New York, NY

  • Summer Group Exhibition, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY

2023

  • Inside Job 2023, Christie’s New York, New York, NY

  • Mother Earth, Stone Sparrow NYC, New York, NY

2022

  • Masquerade, Stone Sparrow NYC, New York, NY

  • Inside Job 2022, Christie’s New York, New York, NY

  • Dog Days of Summer, Stone Sparrow NYC, New York, NY

2021

  • Blue Review Online Exhibition, Sugarlift, New York, NY

  • The Devil is in the Details, Stone Sparrow NYC, New York, NY

2020

  • Annual Members Invitational, New York Artists Equity Association, Inc., Equity Gallery, New York, NY

  • Contemporary Narratives, Stone Sparrow NYC, New York, NY

2019

  • 13th Hour, Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY

  • Hell’s Kitchen, Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY

  • Awake, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY

  • 2019 Summer Exhibition, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

  • MFA Thesis Exhibition, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

  • Tribeca Ball, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

  • 0-0 LA Gallery’s GIFC, The Hole, New York, NY

2018

  • Holiday Group Exhibition, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY

  • Buy What You Love Auction, The Rema Hort Mann Foundation, New York, NY

  • Eight-Year Anniversary Group Exhibition, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY

  • Summer in the City, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

  • Tribeca Ball, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

  • F*ck Art group exhibition, Image Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

  • Small Beauties, Era Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia, PA/New York, NY

2017

  • Deck the Walls, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

  • Once Upon a Dream, Era Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

  • Buy What You Love Auction, The Rema Hort Mann Foundation, New York, NY

  • Single Fare 4, Highline Stages, New York, NY

  • Front of House/Back of House group exhibition, Christies, New York, NY

Residencies

2019

  • Teaching Artist in Residence, National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Sodus, NY

Scholorships and Awards

2018-2019

  • Art Exhibition Service Scholarship, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2017-2019

  • Academy Scholar Award, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

Publications

2023

2022

2019

2018