Breaking the Code, directed by Michael Flanagan, is a documentary film that tracks the life and career of the important Texan artist Vernon Fisher (1943-2023), who passed away last year. It follows the painter from his origins in a small, religious north Texas town through the meteoric rise of his career in the late 1970s into the 1980s, followed by a downturn in the later ’80s and ’90s, and culminating in the more recent resurgence of interest in his work thanks to committed collectors, gallerists, curators, and critics. The film tells this story using compelling archival material and engaging interviews with Fisher as well as art world luminaries, who give life to the narrative, as does the documentation of Fisher at work making his signature densely populated canvases. Breaking the Code positions Fisher alongside better known peers like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, while also emphatically arguing for the singularity of his practice. Indeed, in the 1980s Fisher had the rare honor of having work on display simultaneously in exhibitions at the Guggenheim, Whitney, and MoMA, while being represented by the famed gallerist Barbara Gladstone.

Directed by Michael Flanagan.

2023.

USA.

English.

47 mins.

Discussion and Q&A with the director to follow the film.

Doors open at 7pm. Program begins at 8pm.

$5 at the door. All ages are welcome.

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