Brian Schorn was awarded a Residency at the Silver City Artist in Residence program, July-September 2015, where he produced a body of work called “Comstock Wabi-Sabi.” Using discarded andfound objects he has created 3 dimensional artifacts of the Comstock Bonanza. The show first opened at St Mary's Art Center in Virginia City and has now relocated to the giant entrance Foyer gallery space at 50 Liberty St, Reno. This is exhibition is curated and installed by the Sierra Arts Foundation, Galleries at Work program. Open to the public weekdays, until April 2016.
"The show is comprised of “found objects,” which is a risky kind of art, since his medium is the same stuff any of us could find, stick together, and put up on the wall. Brian takes on the challenge and quietly, but effectively, shows us how it’s done. The first thing that strikes you is the craftsmanship.The pieces are neat and contained, their diverse parts joined invisibly, or held together with small, unobtrusive screws. Pieces of weathered wood form the backing, and background, for the smaller, varied objects, which also serves to focus our attention, and lets us know we are looking at something special. Silver City’s one-hundred fifty year plus history has given Brian much to work with, and his practiced eye has picked out quite a selection—everything from oyster shells imported during the 1860s to pieces of desiccated garden hose, and in between a broken comb, fragments of plates, bowls, and bottles, wood honeycombed with dry-rot, a spoon and fork, the lost head of a plastic toy cowboy. Some pieces, like “Bedroom Doorknob for Julia C. Bulette,” speak to us fairly directly. Others not so much, like “Sunrise: the Artist in Silver City.” But they all tell a story, or even better, they are arranged and given to us so we cannot help but create a story for them." Erich Obermayer
Support: The Comstock Wabi-Sabi exhibit is made possible through the Resident Artist Program in Silver City, St. Mary's Art Center, Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey, and the community of Silver City, with additional and essential support from Fred Swanson.
Brian Schorn: For more information about multidisciplinary Michigan artist Brian Schorn, see his website
Resident Artist Program in Silver City: For more information about this new program, click here
Healthy Communities Coalition: For more information about this regional, multi-sector,collaborative impact group, click here
