Born to Kill (2019) An interactive Installation and series of collaborative paintings by Chris King and John Sebelius
"Born to Kill" was a two-person show Chris King had with Kansas artist, John Sebelius. First exhibited at the KRUK Gallery, at the University of Wisconsin, the exhibit included over fifty portraits of legendary comedians (twenty-five done by each artist) arranged in "cloud" formations throughout the gallery. Following a series of politically motivated work, King and Sebelius aimed to create something a bit lighter, a show that would unite their audience through laughter. The duo continued their collaborative painting process, shipping pieces back & forth to each other from Louisiana to Kansas as they developed the work and overall theme, that for this event, explored how comedy and what we perceive as "funny" changes over time.
"Born to Kill" was a two-person show Chris King had with Kansas artist, John Sebelius. First exhibited at the KRUK Gallery, at the University of Wisconsin, the exhibit included over fifty portraits of legendary comedians (twenty-five done by each artist) arranged in "cloud" formations throughout the gallery. Following a series of politically motivated work, King and Sebelius aimed to create something a bit lighter, a show that would unite their audience through laughter. The duo continued their collaborative painting process, shipping pieces back & forth to each other from Louisiana to Kansas as they developed the work and overall theme, that for this event, explored how comedy and what we perceive as "funny" changes over time.
Born to Kill (installation) As a centerpiece in the space, the duo created a "Comedy Club" installation, inviting participants to record their own jokes and post them to #borntokillshow on instagram. The installation included a small stage, stool, brick vinyl, curtains, lighting, speakers, microphone, and cellphone stand, with a looping laugh track and theme music (by Aime Caron) playing from speakers. King explains, "The BTK show celebrates some of our favorite comedians, who we discovered at various points in our lives, and the process has given John and I a chance to share some hilarious stories and jokes with each other. We hope the show inspires the same in our viewers."
Born to kill, 2019, Installation Video by Chris King & John Sebelius
I'm Not from Here (2018): A series of collaborative paintings by Chris King and John Sebelius
In 2018, King and Sebelius continue their collaborative process of shipping work back and forth to each other between their studios in Louisiana and Kansas; Each taking turns editing and building layers of information in each piece. "I’m Not From Here", includes a series of 20"x 24" pieces consisting of painted and drawn layers of text and imagery collected from various social media dating sites in and around the University of Arkansas, where the show opened in January 2018. King explains, "We are interested in how a community of people represent themselves through words, imagery, and technology and what we can learn about a culture and ourselves virtually through social media. Having moved around the country several times, I know the difficulty of trying to make new friends as I've changed communities. Looking at this language through the lens of painting provides a broader interpretation of these images. Sebelius adds, "Our focus has been mostly on people who are trying to make new friends, find love, a sexual encounter, or all of the above. We see a parallel in this ‘Personal Ad’ language to how we communicate on various levels in our collaborative process, and how we're also seeking a connection to an audience, hoping they might have a meaningful relationship with our work.”
Superfans (2017): A series of collaborative paintings by Chris King and John Sebelius
Chris King and John Sebelius have been fans of each other’s work since meeting at a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2011. At that time they weren't collaborating, but worked closely in the studio. They soon found that while they come from very different backgrounds, they share a lot of the same interests in pop culture, art, music, movies, and sports. While teaching a workshop together in 2015 they realized that their view of sports and sports fans was a sort of metaphor for the tense political climate in America. King says, "That became a point of interest for us and it was then that we decided to collaborate on a series of large paper pieces to further develop this idea." In the months that followed, they each started a series of paintings, which they began shipping back and forth from Kansas to Louisiana for each other to work on. Superfans opened at Cider Gallery in Lawrence, Kansas in April 2017.
