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Kris Pierce is an artist working in Fort Worth, Texas. His work examines how various expressions of individualism, such as the alpha male, the main character, and the influencer, are not just rewarded in society, but form the cornerstone of past and present American identity. Multigenerational themes including narcissism, social affirmation, and cultural insecurities, are collapsed into works that ask the question: what drives the prevailing definition of success, power, and value in the United States? When unpacked, this definition becomes entangled in present-day politics, social media culture, image-making, tech bros, and gender roles. Texas provides a unique environment where these elements of culture become amplified in a dramatic way. Pierce explores these themes through hybrid forms including painting, sculpture, virtual reality, 3-D modeling, game engines, and computer-generated video. This body of work aims to reorient and reevaluate history’s coded definition of what it means to achieve “The American Dream," and how the notion of rugged individualism continues to expand and evolve today. 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; Reunion, Zurich, Switzerland; Circuit 12 Contemporary, Dallas; Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio; The Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas; The Dallas Museum of Art; RL Window, Ryan/Lee, New York City, The Akron Art Museum and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art / The Momentary, Bentonville Arkansas. Pierce received a BFA in Studio Art from the University of North Texas, Denton. His work is included in multiple public and private collections. He is represented by Keijsers Koning.

Kris Pierce

Born Arlington, Texas | Works in Fort Worth, Texas

EDUCATION
BFA, College of Visual Arts and Design, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas

RESIDENCIES
Artist in Residence SOMA, Mexico City, Mexico, 2014
University of Texas at Dallas Centraltrak Artist Residency, Dallas, TX, 2013

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Applause, Keijsers Koning, Dallas, Texas
2023 Oil Can Tremolo, Cole Art Center, Nacogdoches, Texas
2022 Party Line, Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, Texas
2022 Persona, Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, Fort Worth, Texas
2019 A Ghost in the Attic, Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas
2019 Boiling a Ship in the Sea, The MAC, Dallas, Texas
2018 Free Food, Ryan/Lee RL Window, New York City, New York
2017 Starving for Attention, Gallerie Se Konst, Falun, Sweden
2013 Missed Calls, The Reading Room, Dallas, Texas
2011 The Final Boss of the Internet, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2010 The Secret History of Street Cred, Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, Texas

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Funhouse, Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas
2024 My Long Shadow and I, Keijsers Koning, Dallas, Texas
Art on Paper, Brussels, Belgium
Space is a Common Thing, Porvoo Triennial, Porvoo, Finland
2023 A Path Less Traveled, Keijsers Koning, Dallas, Texas
The Sleep of Reason: The Fragmented Figure, Houston Sculpture Month – Site Gallery, The Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston, Texas
Persona, Cole Art Center – Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, Texas
2022 Persona, Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, Fort Worth, Texas
Constructs, Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio
Constructs, Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida
2020 State of the Art 2020, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
2019 The Great Derangement, Electric Perfume, Toronto, Ontario
Assembly, The MAC, Dallas, Texas
2018 Surfin’ the Dream Channels, Untitled, Miami, Florida, San Francisco, CA
Kook Out, Culture Hole, Dallas, Texas
2017 Kris Pierce, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
BYOB, The Cedars Union, Dallas, Texas
Augmented Reality, Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio, Texas
Double Edged, Circuit 12, Dallas, Texas
2016 Video and Sound, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Griefer, Ättiksfabriken Art Space Falun, Sweden
2015 Expanded Cinema, Exterior of Omni Hotel, Dallas, Texas and KXT 91.7
Moon Ribbon, Riverside, Bern, Switzerland
Gorgissimo, Réunion, Zurich, Switzerland
NON-OBJECTIVE, Circuit 12, Dallas, Texas
Narcotic Black Black Swimming Pool with A Mossy Surface Film (Contributor), Epitome Institute, San Antonio, Texas
Obake Hotel, Hiroshima Art Center, Hiroshima Japan
2014 Sundowner, Circuit 12, Dallas, Texas
Private Practice, Artspace111, Fort Worth, Texas
2013 The McGuffin, AndX Art Space, Fort Worth, Texas
Amarillo Entropy, The Power Station, Dallas, Texas
Collective Bargaining, University of Texas Dallas, Dallas, Texas
Friskt kopplat, hälften brunnet, Centraltrak, Dallas, Texas
Available Space, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas
Capture, Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, St. Augustine, Florida
2012 In-Transit: Station Domination, Texas & Pacific Rail Station, Fort Worth, Texas
where is the power, Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, Fort Worth, Texas
Falloff, Art Corridor at Tarrant County College, Arlington, Texas
2011 Street View, ARS Electronic Festival, Linz, Austria
EXPO, 500X Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Hands on an Art Body, Oliver Francis Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2010 Launch Party, 2525 Weisenberger, Fort Worth, Texas
X20+, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, Texas
Wish You Were Here, Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, Fort Worth, Texas

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville Arkansas
Fort Worth Public Art, City of Fort Worth, Texas
Old Jail Art Center (OJAC), Albany Texas

ARTIST COLLECTIVES
HOMECOMING! Committee, Co-Founder

SELECTED REVIEWS, ARTICLES
“Top Five, Funhouse” Glasstire, March 13th, 2025 William Sarradet, “Applause for Eye Candy: Recent Exhibitions in Dallas”, Glasstire March 17th, 2024
Kendal Morgan, “Happy Mediums: 10 North Texas Artists to Watch in 2024”, Dallas Observer, February 2nd, 2024
Lee Cullum, “‘A Path Less Traveled’ brings together two Dallas galleries for joint show” Dallas Morning News, January 19, 2024
“Top Five, The Sleep of Reason: The Fragmented Figure” Glasstire, November 2nd, 2023
William Sarradet, “Across American Reality: Recent Exhibitions in Dallas and Houston” Glasstire, October 27th, 2023
William Sarradet, “Main Character Syndrome: A Conversation with Kris Pierce” Glasstire, December 9th, 2022
“Glasstire’s Best of 2022” Glasstire, December 13th, 2022
Gregory Volk, “A Survey of American Art that Isn’t Just Coastal” Hyperallergic, March 7th, 2020
Patrick Kelly, “A Ghost in the Attic: Interview with Kris Pierce” theojac.org, September, 2019
Niklas Darke, “Swimming Between Beasts” Dalarna Chronicle, July 23, 2017
Bill Bridges, “Sundowner is not a Collective” Arts + Culture Magazine (cover), December 5th, 2014
Lauren Smart, “Sundowner at Circuit 12 Is One of the Most Interesting Gallery Exhibitions This Year” Dallas Observer, December 1st, 2014
Elaine Sun, “Revisionist History” Central Track, August 9th, 2013
Andy Amato, “Review: DallasSITES: Available Space at the DMA” Words and Images, August 2nd, 2013
Stephen Becker, “Local Artist Occupy DMA” Art & Seek, KERA Radio, July 31st, 2013
Margaret Meehan, “People in Your Neighborhood: Karen Weiner,” Glasstire, May 10th, 2013
Leslie Castro, “A Love Letter to Dallas,” Glasstire, February 20, 2012
Jamie Laughlin, “The 12 Most Newsworthy Art Moments of 2012 for Dallas and Fort Worth” Dallas Observer, December 19, 2012
Anthony Mariani, “Headed to Falloff,” Fort Worth Weekly, December 5, 2012
“What the Dallas Art World will be Buzzing About in 2013 and Beyond,” Modern Luxury Dallas, December 2012
Benjamin Lima, “where is the power,” ...might be good, Issue #198, October 12, 2012
Jennifer Smart, “Conduit Gallery's Group Exhibition is Worth a Second Look,” dallasdesigndistrict.com
Cassandra Emswiler, “Fight the Power, in Muted Tones: where is the power at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts,” D Magazine FrontRow, September 5, 2012
Ryder Richards, “Gallery Hopping: A Diversity of Strong Shows Highlight A Month in Dallas Art,” D Magazine FrontRow, May 30, 2012
Margaret Meehan, “Mirror Mirror #7: HOMECOMING! Committee,” Glasstire, May 14, 2012
Anne Lawrence, “Fort Worth Contemporary Arts – Wish You Were Here,” Art This Week, Episode 61

PUBLICATIONS
Operators (Generally Speaking, 2025) Forthcoming
State of the Art 2020 (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 2020)
Sammankomster Och Gatherings: Galleri Se Konst Falun 2009–2018 (Sweden: GSK, 2018)
TX 13 Texas Biennial: An Independent Survey of Contemporary Art in Texas (Texas: Big Medium, 2013)
A Chorus of Sustain: The Shadows of Architecture (Texas, PCPress, 2011)

OTHER ACTIVITIES, TALKS, CONTRIBUTIONS, SCREENINGS
Nothing is as it Seems, Screening, Walters, Amsterdam, New York
Picnic Issue No. 4, April 2024
Culture Hole T.V., Episode 1: HUGS, 2020
The Modern's Teen/Artist Project, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, December 2019
Game Changers and Box Breakers: Critical Thinking in Our World, San Jacinto College, Houston, February 2019
The Modern's Teen/Artist Project, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, April 2018
Studio Practice and Technology, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden, March 2018
Art and Technology; New Media Artists Panel, The Cedars Union, January 2018
Student Lecture and Classroom Visit, Texas State University, San Marcos, October 2017
Kris Pierce Video Work, Screening, Sandviken, Sweden, October 2017
Augmented Reality Artist Panel Discussion, Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio, July 2017
Graduate Student Portfolio Reviews, SOMA, Mexico City, June 2014
“HOMECOMING: In Brief” Tuesday Evening Lecture Series, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, March 2014
semigloss magazine, Contributor (Cover), Vol. 4, December 2013
semigloss magazine, Contributor, Vol. 3, July 2013
“Drawing from the Collection,” Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, September 2013
“A Chorus of Sustain” semigloss. magazine, Issue #3 June 2013
“Late Nights at the DMA, New Media Workshop” Dallas Museum of Art, March 2013
“New Acquisitions, New Media Workshop” Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, February 2013
“New Media and Process,” Tarrant County College Southeast Campus, November 2012
“Kaguya Hime,” Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet, Assistant Set Designer, May 2012
“Drawing from the Collection,” Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, October 2012

For inquiries, email: contact@krispierce.com