Persona

Richie Budd – Kris Pierce – John Rasimus

Fort Worth Contemporary Arts

February 25 – April 30, 2022

The Art Galleries at TCU are pleased to present Persona, three solo exhibitions featuring the work of Richie Budd, Kris Pierce and John Rasimus. The exhibitions run February 25 – April 30, 2022 at Fort Worth Contemporary Art and open with a reception for the artists on Friday, February 25, 6-8pm. Budd and Rasimus will present artist talks in the gallery on Saturday, February 26, at 2pm. Pierce will present an artist talk in the gallery on Saturday, March 26, at 2pm. Additional live programming to be confirmed soon.

The artists describe Persona as loosely referencing Ingmar Bergman’s 1966 Swedish film of the same title; an experimental, psychological drama renowned for its perplexing suggestion that the two main characters experience a type of an emotional convergence. Formatted as three concurrent solo exhibitions, the artists’ work circles ideas relating to identity, duality, and character as traits of humans’ inherent need to distinguish and validate their existence as individuals.

Through these individual presentations, the artists consider the development of persona in real and digital space, including involvement of physical senses. In different ways they each speak to a complicated desire to exist at the center of one’s own universe. Working within an anti-collaborative format, a web of connections between the artists’ approaches is revealed without the dynamics of a traditional group exhibition or the type of social alliance that informs much contemporary media.

In his exhibition Dead Souls, Richie Budd presents new biomorphic sculptures that suggest meaning through shape and sensation. The forms include multi-sensory devices such as Halloween ghost projectors, sound components, fans that distribute the smell of essential oils, popcorn makers popping, and George Foreman Grills that allow the artist to cook hotdogs. Through these sculptures Budd hopes to entice an affective encounter for gallery visitors that cultivates their future memories.

Kris Pierce’s new multimedia works in his exhibition Oil Can Tremolo explore virtual identity through a real-time gathering of sources from social media platforms. Concerned with how we project and perceive our own reality, Pierce reflects on the trend of main character syndrome; a TikTok phenomenon where people imagine and act out scenarios playing the “main character” in a fictionalized version of their lives. His works ask us to consider how aspects of self-assurance, confidence are understood in American culture, and how technology has the potential to transform healthy individualism into a type of harmful narcissism.

Swedish artist John Rasimus uses drawing, print and animation to create ambitious large-scale installations that playfully challenge media characteristics and rest on illusion. For Hideout, his exhibition at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, Rasimus presents a life-size wooden “outhouse” created from folded paper prints made to suggest the look of real wooden planks. Cartoonish and absurd, the lone structure presents itself as a delicate shelter and personal space for the most intimate activities. Employing a style characterized by bold outlines, bright colors and references to cowboys and other signifiers of Western culture, Rasimus’ work is a dynamic, comedic mash up of Swedish wit and Texan honky tonk aesthetic.

About the Artists

Richie Budd lives and works in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and is best known for creating performances, sculptures, and installations involving the five senses. He has exhibited nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions “Dumpster Dive,” Chelsea Mini-Storage, New York (2015) and “Performance/Residue: Schläger,” Triangle Arts Association, New York (2012), and group exhibitions “Julmarknad,” Galleri SE Konst, Falun, Sweden (2015), “Schläger performance” at Hands On An Art Body with Homecoming Committee, Oliver Francis Gallery, Dallas, (2012), and “The American performance,” VideoKonstFestival, Magasinet, Falun, Sweden (2011). In 2008 Budd was an Artist-In-Residence at Artpace, San Antonio with curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and received critical acclaim in international press for his collaboration with Will Robison titled “C'mon Guy” at Scope Art Fair in 2011. In addition to exhibiting his work, Budd has also taught studio art including appointments at Texas Christian University (2012), Finnish Academy of Art, Helsinki, Finland (2008) and the Bergen National Academy of Arts, Bergen, Norway (2007). Budd holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of North Texas and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is also a Licensed Trainer and Coach of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. @richie_budd_art

Based in Fort Worth, Kris Pierce’s practice explores the dynamic between our virtual and physical identities. His work examines how human experiences are transformed in the digital world and considers, for example, how our emotions, aspirations and relationships take on new meaning and forms through technology. Pierce has exhibited internationally and nationally in museums, galleries, and public spaces, in solo and group exhibitions including at the Hiroshima Art Center, Japan; CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea; Gallerie Se Konst, Falun, Sweden; Reunion, Zurich, Switzerland; Circuit 12 Contemporary, Dallas; Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio; The Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas; The Dallas Museum of Art; RL Window, Ryan/Lee, New York City, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art / The Momentary, Bentonville Arkansas. Pierce received a BFA in Studio Art from the University of North Texas, Denton. www.krispierce.com @krispierce

John Rasimus studied printmaking at the Art School of Falun and the Arts Students League in New York before completing his MFA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Umea, Sweden. His work has been exhibited widely in Sweden including recent solo exhibitions “allt är inte kattguld som glimmar...,” Galleri Alva, Umea (2021), and “Dear Friends To Whom It May Concern /The Big Bang,” Gruvans Konsthall Falun (2021). Rasimus has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions at venues including Centre3, Hamilton Canada; Galleria Rankka, Helsinki, Finland; and, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK. In the US Rasimus has exhibited and presented lectures and workshops at the University of Tucson Arizona, Vassar College, and the Art Students League New York. John Rasimus’ participation in Persona is made possible in part by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. www.johnrasimus.se@johnrasimus.artist

For more information about Persona and the three solo exhibitions, interviews with the artists, images for press, or details about other activities of The Art Galleries at TCU please visit the Galleries website www.theartgalleries.tcu.edu, email theartgalleries@tcu.edu, or call 817-257-2588. You can also check out our social media:

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About Fort Worth Contemporary Arts

Fort Worth Contemporary Arts (FWCA) is a satellite exhibition space located a few blocks from the School of Art, on the edge of the TCU campus. Situated on West Berry Street, a busy urban corridor, this 2,000-square-foot gallery is TCU’s public-facing art venue. It offers a great opportunity for students, faculty, staff and alumni to engage with the Dallas-Fort Worth community. At FWCA, the curatorial focus revolves around national and international artists at different stages of their career. It often includes work that has never been shown before or that is made on-site during a residency period, with direct support from the Art Galleries at TCU. This concentration means students have close access to high-quality art and can critically engage with artists on a one-on-one basis in the gallery.

Fort Worth Contemporary Arts is located at 2900 W. Berry St. and is open Wednesday – Saturday 12 – 5pm. Admission is free. In step with TCU Covid-19 protocols we ask that visitors follow these guidelines:

• All visitors (students, faculty, staff and general public) must wear masks in the galleries, maintain 3ft social distancing and sign-in for contact tracing purposes. A gallery attendant will be on hand if you have any questions or forget your mask.
• If you would like to bring your class or a group to the galleries, please contact us by email to arrange ahead of time theartgalleries@tcu.edu. To meet our occupancy guidelines we may need to split large classes or groups depending on which gallery you visit.

These guidelines are subject to change, and we will circulate updated guidelines for visiting the Galleries if needed. You can also follow all of TCU's Covid-19 updates here: www.tcu.edu/protect-the-purple/