Christopher Garrett and Frank Haines at AMP

AMP is pleased to present two solo shows by New York based Frank Haines and Los Angeles based Christopher Garrett opening today (May 26th).

From spooky performances with vaudevillian flair to wall works and sculptures heaped with alchemical accumulations, Frank Haines spins dark meaning out of a mystical domestic geometry. Symbols and symbolism interlace through his work as recurring motifs while his performances and revelations tend to occur on days of spiritual import. Inspired by the lush, occultist films of Kenneth Anger, Haines’ performances (often featuring Chris Kachulis, collaborator on Bruce Haack’s landmark 1970 electro album Electric Lucifer whose collaborative film with Frank will be featured at AMP’s basement) border on the ritual. Built with his unique cosmogony, Haines’ practice is both transforming and transformative in material and presence.

In his upcoming show at AMP’s ground floor Christopher Garrett will incorporate sculptures, drawings, and grave-rubbings. Employing the figure of the romantic outsider (who often takes on the surrogate form of a skeleton) Christopher Garrett creates elusive, open-ended narratives that seem to gently undermine the morbid symbolism, and individualistic fatalism typically associated with such characters. Frank Haines lives and works in New York. He holds an MFA from San Francisco State University. He has previously had solo exhibitions with Jack Hanley Gallery and Quotidian — both in San Francisco, and Three Walls in Chicago, Illinois. His work was included in "Deaf 2," a group exhibition curated by Peter Coffin at Frank Elbaz Galerie in Paris and has recently participated in a three-person exhibition at Krinzinger Projekte in Vienna, Austria. In addition, Frank stages intense, mystical performances that are frequently timed to coincide with celestial events. Frank also performs with Chris Kachulis and Reuben Lorch-Miller as the trio Blanko and Noiry.

Christopher Garrett lives and works in Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions include: “White Room”, White Columns (2007), “A Private Ocean”, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago, (2006); and “Melting Down”, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco (2004). Recent group shows include: “Cabin Fever”, Rivington Arms, New York (2007); “Having New Eyes”, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO (2006); “Lo-Gressive Living”, The Approach, London (2004); “We Are Electric”, Deitch Projects, New York (2003); “Black Rainbow”, Lucky Tackle, Oakland (2003); “Bay Area Now #3”, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2002); amongst others.