Christopher Russell
GRFALWKV
Mark Moore Gallery proudly presents GRFALWKV, a solo exhibition of altered photographs and a handcrafted
book by gallery artist Christopher Russell. The central focus of Russell's show is a large-scale cloth-bound
manuscript under the same title. Broken into five distinct chapters, the volume investigates the general
territory of "endings" as the author explores various types of calamity pulled from art theory, history, and pop
culture. These ideas inform the accompanying scratched-photo-drawings, which capture the psychological,
otherworldly implications of being.
Countering the idea of the mass-produced novel and pervasive e-book, GRFALWKV harkens back to the
handmade origins of bookmaking, imitating the illustrative qualities of crafted manuscripts while also recalling
the visual language of contemporary materiality, literature, and design. Employing techniques of spray painting,
collage, and fountain pen drawing, each page is meticulously transcribed by hand. Through this methodical
process, Russell invites us to ruminate on the affects of mortality. The first chapter recalls scenes from
Antichrist movies of the Cold War era, with illustrations alluding to environmental catastrophe. The next
chapter delves into Edmund Burke's essay on terror as the ruling principal of the sublime, while the following
chapter offers an imaginary glimpse into the aftermath of a nuclear blast. The fourth chapter “Dead Art Star” -
deals with the art world as a catastrophic event in which ideals are traded and sold to the detriment of the
artist's sense of self. The final chapter brings the text back to photographic seeing by offering brief
descriptions of mundane scenes, and creates mental images that act as stages for potential traumas.
Supplementary to the book are Russell's photographs of lens flares, rife with intricately scraped patterns and
figures upon their surfaces. With a razorblade, Russell gouges stylized explosions and fragmented scenes of an
apocalyptic aftermath into his images, creating a world in which animals have returned to re-inhabit the rubble
left by these detonations. Simultaneously referencing death and rebirth, Russell's visual and written narrative
guides us through the captivating, volatile nature of transience.
Russell (b. 1974) received his M.F.A. from the Art Center College of Design (CA). In 2009, he produced a
solo exhibition as part of the Hammer Museum's (CA) "Hammer Projects" series. He has also been featured
in group exhibitions at the Tokyo Institute of Photography (Japan), The Norton Museum (FL), Armory Center
for the Arts (CA), White Columns (NY) De Appel Arts Center (Netherlands) Oakland Museum (CA), Los
Angeles County Museum of Art (CA), among others. He has published numerous critical articles in Artillery
Magazine, Art US, and Leisure, in addition to being a featured subject of positive review by the Los Angeles
Times, New York Times, Huffington Post, Artillery, Frieze, and ArtForum, among others. Russell also produces
his own unique books in addition to his 'zine Bedwetter. His first novel is Sniper, and other books include
Budget Decadence (2nd Cannons Publications), Pattern Book (Insert Blanc Press) and Landscape (Kolapsomal
Press). His work is included in the collections of Deutsche Bank, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of
Contemporary Art, Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Rhode Island School of Design
Museum, Hammer Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of
Photography, to name a few. In Spring 2014, Russell will release two print editions with Aperture at Paris
PhotoLA.
Jeremy Fish
Hunting Trophies
Mark Moore Gallery is proud to present "Hunting Trophies," an immersive installation
and exhibition in Gallery Two of new work by interdisciplinary artist Jeremy Fish.
Marking the artist's first solo exhibition with the gallery, this body of work showcases
Fish's adept capacity to translate sociopolitical and autobiographical topics into
allegorical narratives and imaginative spaces. Much like a raconteur divulging a tale, Fish
renders characters and places that allude to a greater fable – but are recounted in
whimsical language all his own.
In this exhibition, Fish encourages us to question the concept of value. As a society, we
have become increasingly fixated on acquiring prize possessions. Be it the newest
technological gadget, or a "trophy piece" for a collector's art collection, we have been
conditioned to pursue "the best" at all costs. In letting the thrill of the chase dictate the
cost of our objectives, we find ourselves progressively dispassionate about ideological or
noncommercial worth in favor of competitive gain. Fish confronts this predatory
attitude by inviting us to enter the hunter's mind, and take inventory of his spoils. The
artist's trademark sculptural paintings appear as prizes on a cabin's walls, rife with
imagery pertaining to modern conquest and obsession. Fish intimates that such voracity
can meet an ominous end, but with the layered, congenial plot of a parable. With the
guidance of the artist-as-narrator, the "Hunting Trophies" on display bespeak an
unfolding saga - complete with unprecedented risk, obscure protagonists, and capricious
villains – of which we may never learn the lesson.
A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Jeremy Fish (b. 1974, Albany, NY) received
his BFA in 1998, and has exhibited in Mexico City, San Francisco, New York, Laguna
Beach, Milan, Zurich, Tokyo, Munich, and Los Angeles. He has shown in collectives and
group shows throughout the world, including Switzerland, Japan and Germany, and selfproduced
a number of international "Mobile Art Tours." His work is featured in the
permanent collection of the Laguna Art Museum (CA).