Narratives Paired

On first sight, it would seem that Gary Panter and Vernon Fisher don't have a lot in common. And indeed, it's not a pre-requisite that two artists have a common thread just because they're being exhibited in the same gallery. However, when you're poring over their work, trying to find some hook that your non-art critic self can home in on and expand upon, things start popping up. Panter is an instantly recognizable graphic artist, the "father of punk comics," and a veritable icon in a world populated by Harvey Pekars and James Kolchakas. His paintings would look equally at home on the shelves of your local comic bookstore or on the walls of a gallery, combining elements of both the surreal and the mundane. Panter's comic book styling is inherently narrative, though it's easy to get lost in the individual details. Local artist Gary Fisher also takes elements of the mundane (maps, for instance) and overlays them with paint that suggests a chalkboard effect and images that he has culled from movie stills, cartoons and photographs. As abstract as the pieces are at first glance, they're every bit as narrative as Panter's, perhaps even more so. Satisfy your inner art critic by comparing and contrasting the works in Panter's Ideal Hatchling exhibit with Fisher's Hearts of Darkness, both at the Dunn and Brown Contemporary (5020 Tracy St.) through October 20. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Visit dunnandbrown.com for more information.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Sept. 13. Continues through Oct. 20, 2007