JOHN KICRHNER: Unknowns
BRANDON MORSE: This Shape We're In

January 31 - March 21, 2009

Conner Contemporary Art is pleased to present Unknowns, an exhibition of new work by John Kirchner and This Shape We're In, an exhibition of new video by Brandon Morse.

In Unknowns John Kirchner converses with unknown 19th century painters. Kirchner augments damaged vintage portraits, landscapes and history paintings with articles of clothing and other common objects. The artist's interventions with the works of his anonymous predecessors are thoughtful, critical and sometimes humorous. Kirchner, whose art furthers principles of the Arte Povera and Surrealist movements, has exhibited work at the Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA, the Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY, The Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY and the Anchorage Museum of Art, Anchorage, AL.

Brandon Morse examines factors of overreach, neglect and collapse with a series of video projections in This Shape We're In. Using digital media, the artist created images of architectonic structures. Morse's complex forms analogize cultural systems which strive to maintain their integrity as destructive external forces intensify. Seeming to toil as protagonists in universal struggles, the artist's vulnerable linear structures have the power to elicit our empathy, though they ultimately lack the strength to preserve their own constitutions. Morse has exhibited work at TorinOver '08, Torino, Italy, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, The San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA and the Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC.

There will be an opening reception for the artists Saturday, January 31st from 6-8pm.

Artists in attendance.

For further information or images, please contact Leigh Conner at 202-588-8750 / info@connercontemporary.com.