Brian Knep: Traces

We are pleased to present Brian Knep’s second solo exhibition at the judi rotenberg gallery. Including video and photography, Knep’s show is an extension of a body of work that he continues to develop through his residency at the Harvard Medical School.

Through the scientific study of microscopic worms, Knep engages metaphysical questions of human behavior, the passage time, and our inevitable transition to death. Knep’s study of the Caenorhabditis elegans, was inspired by the studies being conducted by scientists at the Harvard lab, specifically the study of aging, or the “disintegration of information” as it is formally known. However, while Knep applies learned methods of research, he departs from the dogma of science, and adopts a more human approach to the topic of aging. He is intrigued by the limitations of science, the inability of such a brilliant system to carry us closer to understanding human existence.

We seek salvation in science, hoping to ease our fears – afraid of pain, we research disease; afraid of death we research aging – yet pain is inevitable and life is impermanent. Behind much of my work is a desire to address these conflicting themes by using the tools of science and engineering to make works about connection and change.

Knep’s project with the microscopic worms has moved from observation and study to creating contexts for the worms to travel through. He is fabricating environments, such as microscopic labyrinths, to alter their course and, in essence, intercede with the species himself. As his project develops, the worms are not only metaphors, but subjects whose patterns can be adjusted. Knep is offering new avenues for them to explore, creating a more direct relationship between the artist and his subject.

The exhibition will include high-resolution images and video, which are captured using custom computer vision and image-processing techniques. Knep’s imagery morphs between abstract forms and more defined subjects, at times, appearing as if nature is imitating art.

Knep has previously exhibited related work from his research at the Harvard Medical School at the judi rotenberg gallery in 2007, for which he won the IBM Boston Cyberarts Innovation Award, Miami Basel with Ron Feldman Fine Arts, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill, NY, and the McColl Center for the Arts in Charlotte, NC. Knep graduated with honors from Brown University, where he studied computer-science and mathematics and received his BFA and his Masters. He has exhibited at numerous institutions including, Milwaukee Art Museum, DeCordova Museum, Montserrat College of Art, McColl Center for Visual Art, Tufts University, and Harvard University. He has also exhibited internationally, including University of Otago, New Zealand, Art Rock, France, Mobile Art, Sweden, ARCO, Spain, SSEF and Insa Art Center, Korea. He has received numerous awards including LEF Foundation Grant, IBM Innovation Award, AICA/New England Award, Creative Capital Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation New Media Fellowship Finalist, and Academy Award, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.