SILVERMAN and Hamilton Square Condominium Association present
Kirk Bray: “Seeing It Again”
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Exhibition on view in the lobby from Wednesday, May 6, 2015 to August 31, 2015
Kirk Bray, Underwater Group Date, 2011, oil on found canvas, 62 x 48 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
“I enjoy seeing the reaction of the viewer. If they smile or laugh, I know they get it. Hopefully, my work has brought them back to a pleasant childhood memory”— Kirk Bray
SILVERMAN AND HAMILTON SQUARE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION present “Kirk Bray: Seeing It Again,” curated by Brendan Carroll. This exhibition presents more than 30 works made during the last seven years. Over this time, Bray has developed a diverse body of work that includes paintings, collages, assemblages, and found objects. The show includes works on paper, cardboard, linen, and canvas.
Bray’s work evades categorization. He often combines representational elements with flat, geometric grounds. To be frank, his visual language is hard to pin down, and that’s part of the fun. It seems to be drawn as much from a deadpan observation of the world around him as it is inspired from his unconscious.
Bray’s work is distinguished by its reliance on found canvas and paper—magazine clippings, old diaries, found drawings, odd ephemera, and the skillful manipulation of these materials, which he often finds in vintage stores and estate sales, as well as on the street and inside dumpsters. His work is built of separate elements that create strange images, combining threat, comedy, and fantasty. At times, the disparate materials retain their original identities. At other times, they are combined to create an entirely new persona. More often than not, the paper has a rich patina, which suggests the touch of human hands, as much as the passage of time.
Bray’s reinventions of objects from ordinary life do not signify pedagogic declarations. What they do provide is a humble visual poetry open to interpretation. His work evokes delight.
Bray received his Bachelor of Science in Apparel Design and Manufacturing from University of Wisconsin—Stout in 1996. Calico Gallery, Mary Benson Gallery, Goose Barnacle, and Gallery 454, among other venues, have exhibited his paintings and collages. He lives and works in Jersey City, NJ.
The exhibition will be on view at Hamilton Square Condominium Association through August 31, 2015. For further information, please visit us at SILVERMAN or call number 201-435-8000 .
“Kirk Bray: Seeing It Again” is the twenty-fifth exhibition that Brendan Carroll will organize for SILVERMAN. For additional information on the artist, go here: kirklandbray.com.
SILVERMAN has presented the works of Anna Mogilevsky, Edward Fausty, Ali Harrington, Sara Wolfe, Anne Percoco, Shauna Finn, Melanie Vote, Paul Lempa, Fanny Allié, Michael Meadors, John A. Patterson, Charlotte Becket, Roger Sayre, Karina Aguilera Skvirsky, Tom McGlynn, Margaret Murphy, Valeri Larko, Tenesh Webber, Glenn Garver, Jennifer Krause Chapeau, Michelle Doll, Tim Heins, Megan Maloy, Laurie Riccadonna, Thomas John Carlson, Tim Daly, Ann Flaherty, Scott Taylor, Jason Seder, Sara Wolfe, Beth Gilfilen, Andrzej Lech, Hiroshi Kumagai, Victoria Calabro, Asha Ganpat, Darren Jones, Ryan Roa,Laura Napier, Risa Puno, Nyugen E. Smith, Amanda Thackray, and Kai Vierstra.
Transportation directions from Lower Manhattan to downtown Jersey City.
Transportation Directions from Lower Manhattan to Hamilton Square Condominiums
Brendan Carroll 