Words and Pictures is an exhibition and catalogue of paintings and sculptures by Texas artist Vernon Fisher, dated 1980 to 2019. Curator Tracee Robertson and critic Dave Hickey explore themes and methods in Fisher’s art. Fisher came of age in the twentieth century, characterized as the bloodiest and most brutal century in history. Like many artists of his era, including poets and writers who inspire him, Fisher explores what it means to be lost in the face of indifference. His art is a personal expression of what life feels like. His paintings, typified by compositions of floating imagery and overlaid texts, present an unresolved narrative, intended to leave viewers with an overarching sense of emotion. Embracing postmodern humor, irreverence, and anti-closure, Vernon Fisher paints images of hopeful uncertainty.

Vernon Fisher, whose art has been exhibited nationwide, is recipient of three Individual Artist’s Fellowships from the National Endowment on the Arts; a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant; a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship; and numerous other honors and awards.

TRACEE ROBERTSON served as gallery director and curator at the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design (2007–2019) and now serves as director of the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas. Dave Hickey is an art and cultural critic, distinguished professor, and recipient of the Macarthur Fellowship.

978-1-68040-024-3 paper
11×9. 64pp. 34 color illus. Notes.
Art.
October 2019

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