John Kirchner: Unknowns / Brandon Morse: This Shape We're In

January 31 - March 21, 2009

Opening Reception: January 31, 6-8pm

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.

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.

Conner Contemporary Art
1358-60 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
http://www.connercontemporary.com