Museum Meets… Michael Browne

Museum Meets... Michael Browne

An unveiling of new work, followed by Q&A

Mancunian artist Michael Browne joins us at the Museum to unveil a large-scale new work exploring Empire and its impact on modern British identity.

As well as being one of the first people to view this thought-provoking new piece, you’ll be able to chat with the artist himself during a post-showing Q&A at a special Museum Meets late event on Wednesday 12 March, 6-9pm.

But, following on from this evening event, Michael will also be hosting a series of drop-in sessions at the Museum on Thursday 13, Friday 14, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March, when you’ll be able to book a spot to see the piece and meet the artist in a relaxed setting. These sessions will run 10am-12pm and 1-3pm on each day.

Known for his distinctive figurative style, Browne’s work often features well-known figures in challenging, cross-cultural contexts, drawing on history, mythology and religious iconography. Inspired by the Renaissance style, he explores the intersections between politics, religion, cultural identity and popular culture.

His recent work includes a successful exhibition at the National Football Museum in collaboration with Eric Cantona, From Moss Side to Marseille.

This latest piece, debuting at Manchester Museum, features members of the Royal Family, Marcus Rashford, Christopher Eccleston and others, while asking questions about the legacy of the British Empire and its impact on modern British identity.

Book late event

About the piece

Based on The Apotheosis of Homer by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Michael Browne’s latest work provides commentary on the current state of the UK and the lasting impact of Empire.

Exploring the legacies of extraction, exploitation and violence, it pieces together snapshots of political society in this country through the use of popular figures and classical iconography.

Browne’s intention is to show a visual ‘wind of change’ from past to present, and the demographics of people rising to – and falling from – power.

Connections are drawn between the British Empire’s participation in the African slave trade, its colonisation of parts of Africa and the West Indies, the East India Company’s violent occupation of India, and the oppression of workers in the north west of England through cheap labour.

Browne also questions the concept of social mobility, juxtaposing the idea that all people can climb the ladder through hard work against the disregard for those communities and natural resources that don’t contribute to the generation of wealth at all costs.

About the artist

Born in Moss Side in 1963, Michael Browne demonstrated a passion for art from a young age, quickly earning recognition from peers and teachers.

Despite a challenging upbringing, he secured his first one-man show at the Ginnel Gallery in Manchester at the age of 18 and later studied at the Chelsea School of Art before completing an MA at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Browne received global media coverage for a commission at Manchester’s Cocotoo restaurant in 1993, covering the 2,000 sq ft ceiling with a replica of Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel, which took two years to complete. Perhaps his most famous work, The Art of the Game, followed in 1997, a piece chronicling Eric Cantona’s footballing redemption and also featuring Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville. It was later displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, as part of their Painting the Century exhibition.

He has gone on to display works across the country and was the subject of a BBC documentary, Michael Browne – Made in England. His most recent exhibition, From Moss Side to Marseille: The Art of Michael Browne and Eric Cantona, enjoyed a hugely successful run at the National Football Museum from January to June 2023. Created in collaboration with France and Manchester United legend Cantona, the collection of 10 works was influenced by their sporting heroes, who used their positions to advocate for social change, despite the great personal cost.