Kevin Brisco Jr. Take Place: A Home in Four Movements —
Kevin Brisco Jr.

Open from March 1 through June 5, 2025, this solo exhibition by Kevin Brisco Jr. examines how domestic spaces hold our most intimate experiences while shaping our understanding of self. Curated by Aaron Levi Garvey, the exhibition unfolds through four distinct movements, each revealing how the walls of our homes bear witness to and echo our personal histories, from moments of intense joy to those of deepest consternation.

Through Brisco’s masterful manipulation of light and shadow, the exhibition presents seemingly mundane domestic moments that radiate with deeper significance. His vignettes capture fragments of daily life – a deadbolt lock, light filtering through blinds, a figure exhausted at a kitchen table – that reveal how our homes simultaneously protect and confine us, comfort and unsettle us. These scenes, intentionally rendered with the haziness of memory, explore how domestic spaces become repositories for our most intimate experiences and shape the trajectories of our habits and identity.

“I’m interested in how people come to define themselves in relation to their domestic spaces,” explains Brisco. “Home, like many things in our life, often only comes into focus through absence—when something inside is taken away, when we or someone else must leave. My paintings explore how our idea of home exists in these snapshot memories, never giving us the full view but rather moments captured in glare from a window or the thickness of my dad’s hands.”

The exhibition features both large-scale works and intimate paintings that examine the delicate membrane between private and public space. In his larger paintings, Brisco positions shadowed figures within angular architectural settings, where the repetitious lines of window blinds and vinyl siding suggest both protection and intrusion. His smaller canvases capture quiet moments that feel simultaneously personal and universal – a fresh-cut rose on a kitchen table, the glow of a motion sensor light through a window – each exploring how external forces constantly penetrate our most private spheres.

The exhibition’s innovative structure, featuring paintings that will be added and removed throughout its run, mirrors how our understanding of home evolves through time and memory. Each of the four movements builds upon the last, creating a layered exploration of how domestic spaces hold our histories and shape our view of the world. Through his careful observation of overlooked moments and masterful technique, Brisco joins an important lineage of artists who have explored domestic space and memory – from Pierre Bonnard’s psychological interiors of mundane moments and Henri Matisse’s vibrant studio scenes, from Romare Bearden’s geometric collages of Harlem life to Carrie Mae Weems’ powerful Kitchen Table Series – examining the range of life events that unfold in a single domestic space.

“Take Place invites visitors to consider how their own domestic spaces have shaped their understanding of self,” says Molly Rowe, the Hilliard’s Executive Director. “Through Brisco’s evocative paintings, we see how home exists as both physical shelter and psychological space, holding our memories and echoing our histories each time we return.”