Chris Verene

b. 1969 in Galesburg, Illinois

Chris Verene earned his BA in both film and philosophy from Emory University and his MFA in photography/studio art at Georgia State University. Currently living and working in New York City, Verene's photography has been collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, the High Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, The San Francisco Museum of Modern rrt, and numerous others. Verene was the first-ever photographer to receive a Pollock-Krasner Grant for full support (2002-2003). Heartbreaking in their candor, Chris Verene’s photos are an exquisite view into the true personal stories and private lives of the photographer’s extended family and their small community in economically depressed Galesburg, Illinois, over the past 26 years. Verene’s photos depict the repercussions of economic and social upheaval. The pictures show the realities of divorce, loss of income, and mental imbalance. Despite their pathos, these images also forecast a greater good – the power of the human being to survive. Verene is a compassionate storyteller, focusing on the whole, intimate truth of human narratives. His photographs capture moments that crystallize entire constellations of meaning and emotion. The photographs are accompanied by captions, written in Verene’s best schoolboy penmanship, that guide the viewer to a more complete level of understanding.

- Marcia Wood Gallery

Chris Verene

Me in Grandpa Bill's Bedroom

Date unknown

Color print

14 x 11inches

20.5 x 18 inches framed

Gift of Lucinda Bunnen

Accession # 2005.059

Chris Verene

My Grandparents at Home in Galesburg

Date unknown

Color print

14 x 11 inches

20.5 x 18 inches framed

Gift of Lucinda Bunnen

Accession # 2005.060

Chris Verene

Untitled (Cheri Nevers series), 1997

Chromogenic print

29.25 x 25.25 inches

Gift of Joe and Adair Massey

Accession # 2005.097

Chris Verene

Untitled, Leather Girl (Voyeur series), 1996

Chromogenic print

Gift of Joe and Adair Massey

30 x 28.25 inches

Accession # 2005.098

Chris Verene

Untitled (Camera Club series),1996

Chromogenic print

30 x 28.25 inches

Gift of Joe and Adair Massey

Accession # 2005.099

Chris Verene

Untitled (Camera Club series), 1997

Chromogenic print

30 x 28.25 inches

Gift of Joe and Adair Massey

Accession # 2005.100

Chris Verene

Portrait of Joe Massey, 2005

C-print

Gift of Joe and Adair Massey

Accession # 2006.090

Chris Verene

Marcia, Queen of Arts,

(Self Esteem Salon series), 2007

C-print (3/6)

Gift of Joe and Adair Massey in honor of Annette Cone-Skelton

Accession # 2008.036

Chris Verene

Candi's Wedding, 1993

C-print with handwritten oil caption

20 x 24 inches

Gift of Jack Lawing

Accession # 2008.037