Brian Kershisnik
Le Pèchè du Magicien
305 Main Street, Park City, UT
(435) 649.8160
info@meyergallery.com
FEBRUARY 3 - FEBRUARY 17
New Paintings by Brian Kershisnik Theatrically Explore Complex Human Emotions Brian Kershisnik’s contemporary figurative paintings are autobiographical narratives, illustrating poignant human emotions derived from personal experiences. Instead of painting from life, Kershisnik paints from the “process of being alive,” resulting in disguised self-portraits that reflect feelings of comfort, delight, puzzlement, union or loneliness as well as more abstract human emotions. Kershisnik considers his artistic process a performance and his canvas the stage, which he portrays literally and metaphorically in his latest body of work. With painter as performer and canvas as stage, the viewer naturally becomes Kershisnik’s captivated audience, finding
his subjective figures inherently relatable. The artist’s intended narratives as well as his affective, nearsurreal painting style contributes to this visceral response. “Accurate proportions of the figure are not the only way to convey human truth,” he explains. “When I paint, I don’t have a model. I go to a place of imagination because there’s a different kind of communication that happens there that I think is important too.” In his latest series of paintings, Kershisnik plays the role of friends, foes, lovers and even animals in order to illustrate his introspective observations of the human psyche. “I’m always harvesting content from my own life,” says the artist of his subject matter. “I’m looking for new, provocative, compelling, human, breathing narratives. And life has continued to provide me with those.”
In a literal sense, Kershisnik’s theatrical theme is not entirely new. “One of the first paintings I remember doing was a stage,” he recalls. Painted as a young art student, Kershisnik’s first stage predated his artistic identity; devoid of figures or an intentional narrative, the empty stage was a simple exploration of compositional elements. Now, nearly thirty years later, the subject resurfaces in Kershisnik’s paintings as a platform for deeper analysis of the human condition. Magicians, jugglers and dancers embody the exhibition’s motif while also symbolizing abstract concepts relating to warring human emotions. “The Sin of the Magician” and “Protected by Performance” are two of these underlying themes that are explored through multiple paintings in the show. Brian Kershisnik lives in Provo, Utah. He received his BFA in painting at Brigham Young University and
his MFA in printmaking at the University of Texas at Austin. He is well traveled having visited and lived in many countries around the world, providing him with a broad perspective of human nature. Meyer Gallery, owned by Susan Meyer, was established in 1965 by Darrell and Gerry Meyer. Since it’s foundation as one of Park City’s premier art galleries, Meyer Gallery has grown to become one of Utah’s leading contemporary art icons. Located at 305 Main Street in an 1890 Historic Landmark Building, the gallery is committed to showcasing Utah’s exciting emerging talent as well as mid-career to established artists from across the region. Gallery artists work in a variety of mediums and styles, from contemporary realism to abstraction.
- kelly skeen
Protected by Performance 72”x 84”
Pulling Over his Own Monument 54”x 42”, oil
Looking for Something 30”x 40”, oil
Red House 42”x 30”, oil
Calling 72”x 30”, oil
Treading the Basilisk 84”x 30”, oil
Pulling Over his Own Monument II 20”x 16”, oil
Two Spoons 30”x 24”, oil
Le Péché du Magicien (with assistant) 40”x 30”, oil
Two Marys Like Mountains 20”x 24”, oil
Nice Words Nice Words 24” x 20”, oil
Woman Reading 40”x 30”, oil
Entertaining Angels 72”x 42”, oil
Dance Scholarship II 20”x 16”, oil
Your Audience 24”x 20”, oil
Dance Scholarship 24”x 20”, oil
Life Boats 16”x 20”, oil
Dog Found 40”x 30”, oil
Protected by Performance 40”x30”
Le Péché du Magicien 40”x 30”, oil
Lovers Reading 40”x 30”, oil
Protected by Performance 24�x20
Wrestling the Angel 108”x 132”, oil
Death Asking Directions 20” x 16”, oil
Cat Gift 72”x 48”, oil
Untitled Woman 40” x 30”, oil
Mother & Child 48”x 30”, oil
Measurement from Memory 54” x 42”, oil
Happy Bees Happy Keeper 20”x 16”, oil
Unfathomed Revelation Quartet four panels, 72”x 112”, oil
Curriculum Vitae selected bits
BORN
1962 Oklahoma City, OK
EDUCATION
1991 M.F.A. Printmaking, The University of Texas at Austin 1988 B.F.A. Painting, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
HONORS
2017 Serve on Advisory Board for the establishment of a Mormon Arts Center in NYC 2014 Installation paintings for Sorenson Complex for Dance & Education, U of U. 2014 “Utah’s 15 Most Influential Artists” 15 Bytes Publication and Event 2011 Art in Embassies Program, US Embassy in Kuwait 2010 Governor’s Mansion Artist Award, Salt Lake City, UT 2002 “Paintings From Life- Brian Kershisnik” Guild Publishing, 128 pg hardcover book.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 (Since 2005) Annual Show at Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT (February) 2017 (Since 1997) Annual Show at Ericson Fine Art, Salt Lake City, UT (September) 2016 Looking for Something, Prince Gallery, Potomac MD 2016 Looking for Something Else, Lazenby Gallery ,Belmont MA 2013 Eyes Wide Open, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 2011 A Man with Dogs, Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2010 Nice Words, Mesa Contemporary Arts Center, Mesa, AZ 2007 Brian Kershisnik: Painting from Life, Solo Exhibition, U of U Museum of Fine Arts, UT
photography by Kent Miles 2014