{"id":1443,"date":"2015-06-09T14:14:08","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T18:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/?p=1443"},"modified":"2018-05-20T22:51:33","modified_gmt":"2018-05-21T02:51:33","slug":"chris-verene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/chris-verene\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Verene"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_4966\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1443-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interview\/chrisverene.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interview\/chrisverene.mp3\">http:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interview\/chrisverene.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/interviews-by-brainard-carey\/id1468502583?mt=2&amp;ls=1\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_itunes\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Apple Podcasts\" rel=\"nofollow\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5ZxsN79E1W6VJOjQF9GNuZ\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_spotify\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Spotify\" rel=\"nofollow\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/tunein.com\/radio\/Interviews-by-Brainard-Carey-p1236598\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_tunein\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on TuneIn\" rel=\"nofollow\">TuneIn<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/feeds.podcastmirror.com\/interviews-by-brainard\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/goo.gl\/xSQrKY\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_more\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click here to  join mailing list\" rel=\"nofollow\">Click here to  join mailing list<\/a><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-thumbnail wp-image-1444 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cheri-empire-state.jpg?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cheri-empire-state\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cheri-empire-state.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cheri-empire-state.jpg?resize=624%2C626&amp;ssl=1 624w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cheri-empire-state.jpg?w=997&amp;ssl=1 997w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Chris Verene\u00a0was born in 1969, near his\u00a0family\u2019s small railroad and farming community of Galesburg, Illinois. \u00a0His parents met in Galesburg, and three generations of his\u00a0family still live there to this day.\u00a0 In the mid-1980s, at age fifteen, he\u00a0began to seriously document his\u00a0family with a medium-format camera.\u00a0 Though\u00a0he\u00a0was initially self-taught, he\u00a0became passionate about photographing his\u00a0family and their true stories.\u00a0He\u00a0exposed close to one thousand rolls of film in Galesburg by the time he\u00a0turned eighteen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">His\u00a0parents and himself\u00a0are the only part of his\u00a0extended family to leave Galesburg. He\u00a0attended college and graduate school in Atlanta, and did his\u00a0master\u2019s thesis on the same family work that he is\u00a0known for today. \u00a0 Throughout his\u00a0young adulthood, he\u00a0made the trip to Galesburg every available week, summer, and holiday, so that he\u00a0could continue working on the photography. For many years, he\u00a0showed this work only to family, friends, and teachers, amassing about twelve years worth of prints and stories before showing in a formal exhibition in New York City.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">By 1998, he\u00a0had his first solo exhibition in New York.\u00a0 As a result, he\u00a0was able to place the work in major collections, and with his\u00a0adjunct teaching work, was able to continue to afford to work in rural Illinois frequently. He\u00a0had a goal to publish a major book of the work, and by 2000, when\u00a0he\u00a0was twenty-nine, he\u00a0saw his\u00a0first book published by <b>Twin Palms Publishers<\/b>, \u201c<i>Chris Verene<\/i>.\u201d The same year, he\u00a0was chosen for <b>The Whitney Biennial<\/b>, and his\u00a0career was fully set into motion via the attention and support that comes with that exhibition and a major monograph.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">He has\u00a0an ongoing performative side of his\u00a0photography that has blossomed in New York, including an installation at the 2000 Whitney Biennial, with a project called \u201cThe Self-Esteem Salon.\u201d\u00a0 The project seeks to create a safe space for all kinds of people to come and live out a fantasy scene before the camera. With both these fantasy portraits and his\u00a0work in rural Illinois, he has \u201cwitnessed the positive boost to many people\u2019s self-esteem when the right photographer is working on their image.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In 2010-2011, his\u00a0second major monograph, \u201c<i>Family<\/i>,\u201d was published by <b>Twin Palms Publishers<\/b>.\u00a0 The book has received critical acclaim. Many<b> <\/b>national and international gallery exhibitions and public lectures accompanied the book\u2019s publication. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It is an important part of his\u00a0process to be available to discuss his\u00a0work with students and the public worldwide.\u00a0He\u00a0travels frequently to lecture on his\u00a0story, give workshops, critiques, and other appearances. \u00a0In 2015, his\u00a0work is regularly included in both gallery and museum exhibitions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">He has\u00a0been a full-time professor for five years, first at Westchester Community College, SUNY, and now as an Assistant Professor of Photography, on a tenure track at The College of Staten Island, CUNY. \u00a0His art practice could be seen as a combination of social work and artwork.\u00a0 This is similarly fundamental to his\u00a0teaching approach in both of these public schools. He has\u00a0recently published a piece on photographic education in a new <b>Aperture <\/b>textbook, \u201cThe Photographer\u2019s Playbook,\u201d edited by Jason Fulford and Greg Halpern.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A recent US museum tour, \u201cthe kids are alright,\u201d places his\u00a0work in the context of the struggle of the young American underclass to make a living in dire economic times, as does a New York show this fall entitled, \u201cHomeland (In)Security.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">His\u00a0most recent exhibition, \u201cHome Movies,\u201d was held in 2014\/2015 at Postmasters Gallery, and was reviewed in <i>The New York Times, Mus\u00e9e Magazine, Artnet, Artsy, Hyperallergic, FeatureShoot<\/i>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">His\u00a0work has been reviewed and featured in many major publications, including <i>The New York Times Sunday Magazine, PARKETT, ARTFORUM, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Photo District News, Art In America, Harper\u2019s, Vogue L\u2019Hommes, Art News, Flash Art, The Village Voice, Stern, <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/artlog.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Artlog.com<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>, The Morning News, Art Papers, Bomb Magazine, Flavorpill, Artnet, <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/flakphoto.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>FlakPhoto.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>, <i>The New Yorker, <\/i>and many others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Since 2010, Verene is represented by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.postmastersart.com\/archive\/verene14\/verene14.html\" target=\"_blank\">Postmasters Gallery in New York City.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1452\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1452\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1452 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/stilt-walking1.jpg?resize=696%2C464&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/stilt-walking1.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/stilt-walking1.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/stilt-walking1.jpg?resize=624%2C416&amp;ssl=1 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1452\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Self-Esteem Salon\u2028, Stilt Walking, 2011\u2028, The Self-Preservation Series With Jessica Grable<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_1449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1449\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1449 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?resize=625%2C417&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"brittany-and-group(1)\" width=\"625\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?resize=624%2C416&amp;ssl=1 624w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?w=1500&amp;ssl=1 1500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?w=1392&amp;ssl=1 1392w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brittany and Group Facilitators, 2009, The Spring Salon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>http:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interview\/chrisverene.mp3Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | Click here to join mailing list Chris Verene\u00a0was born in 1969, near his\u00a0family\u2019s small railroad and farming community of Galesburg, Illinois. \u00a0His parents met in Galesburg, and three generations of his\u00a0family still live there to this day.\u00a0 In the mid-1980s, at age fifteen, he\u00a0began to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7],"tags":[67,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-1443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artists","8":"category-curator","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-us"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/brittany-and-group1.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p47FRq-nh","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1443"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1456,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1443\/revisions\/1456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofnonvisibleart.com\/interviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}