New paintings and photographs by Andre von Morisse will be on view at McKenzie Fine Art from March 24 to April 23.
Andre von Morisse was born in Norway and has lived in the United States since the mid-1980s. For years, his main subject matter has been the natural world, especially aquatic flora and fauna, rendered with attention to representational detail and an awareness of the psychological impact inherent in such primal scenes. Starting with his last show, von Morisse introduced a surreal narrative thread using images of bizarre technologies suggestive of a dystopian future relationship with nature. The modern promise of reshaping nature and history was called into question. For the current exhibition, von Morisse's interest in the dissipating optimism of modern technology engages both subject matter and medium. The show contains paintings of incongruous, quasi-futuristic situations along with related, over-sized photographs. The inclusion of both mediums stresses the longstanding dialogue between photography as a tool of historical documentation and painting as an indicator of the subjective. In this case, however, von Morisse reverses the traditional roles of the two mediums: his paintings are the primary source from which his photographs are derived.
Von Morisse’s process begins with his grisaille oil paintings of scenes that are simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic. In each composition he merges referents from different eras, using a deft painting style that never entirely convinces the viewer of an integrated photographic reality. The protagonists of these scenes are surrounded by a pastiche of family snapshots and visionary modernist schemes replete with ambiguous technology. Throughout, fleets of ominous dirigibles resembling over-inflated tuna with cartoonish grins hover overhead. The overall effect is an unsettling mix of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and the banality of backyard memories.
Next, von Morisse uses his paintings as the starting point for a photographic process that lends the scenes a veneer of credence and historical veracity. The paintings become conceptual “negatives” which he photographs and enlarges considerably. The resulting soft-focus black-and-white prints recontextualize the painted images into the often unquestioned realm of photographic truth. The large silver gelatin prints are on fiber paper, selenium-toned and mounted on aluminum. These meticulously crafted photographs speak of the integrity of black-and-white photography at its zenith and of its relatively recent inclusion in the canon of fine arts as something more than a mere tool. However, it is important to von Morisse that this film-based technology is itself being supplanted by the incessant flow of digital information. His careful use of two supposedly outmoded technologies--oil painting and traditional photography--creates elegiac evidence of a near future that will never be.
An opening reception will be held on Thursday, March 24 from 6 to 8 pm.
When: Thursday, March 24 through Saturday, April 23. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
Where: McKenzie Fine Art, 511 West 25th Street #208, NYC
Info: (212) 989-5467