FEATURED ARTIST | Kris Pierce

Kris Pierce is an artist working in Dallas, Texas. The primary focus of his practice is the dynamic between our virtual and physical identities. Pierce received a BFA in Studio Art from the University of North Texas, Denton.

Pierce’s work examines themes such as power, value, and states of consciousness within the context—and through the lens—of our modern digital world. His work explores how some of the cornerstones of the human experience, such as love and status, have become amplified and abstracted on the platforms of modern technology like social media and anonymous message boards. Life, death, influence, authenticity, and relationships take on new meaning and forms in the digital realm, existing and thriving outside the norms of physical society. Pierce explores these themes in his work through a variety of emerging technologies such as virtual reality, 3-D modeling, game engines, and computer-generated video.

He has exhibited internationally and nationally in museums, galleries, and public spaces, having had recent solo and group exhibitions at the Hiroshima Art Center, Japan; CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea; Gallerie Se Konst, Falun, Sweden; Réunion, Zurich, Switzerland; Circuit 12 Contemporary, Dallas; Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio; The Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas; The Dallas Museum of Art; and RL Window, Ryan/Lee, New York City.

Pierce recently completed Untitled (Plinths), a series of three cast-concrete sculptures commissioned through Fort Worth Public Art (FWPA) and permanently installed at the Fort Worth Community Art Center (1300 Gendy St. Fort Worth, TX 76017). Each plinth honors the spirit of the building’s original Bauhaus-informed architecture by principal designer Herbert Bayer, whose 1925 universal alphabet served as inspiration for the plinths’ minimal, balanced forms.

These works have created an exterior gallery for temporary outdoor artworks, a new program of the Fort Worth Community Arts Center that will make its debut in Spring 2020.