Chris Verene

Chris Verene, Martabel, 14, 2002.

Chris Verene’s work exists somewhere between performance art, installation and art therapy. During his “self-esteem salons,” the artist dresses as his alter ego Cheri Nevers, a glamour portrait photographer who thinks fantasy role-playing will help people increase their self-esteem. Last month, Verene staged a photo shoot in a giant white tent at Gescheidle that was littered with stuffed animals and costumed models recruited from Craigslist.

Now that the performance is over, only a retrospective of Verene’s photographs remains. The artist documented salons at sites as divergent as the Whitney Biennial and an orphanage. In Olympics Fantasy, an image from the orphanage series, a blond teen in a red leotard kicks her right leg toward the camera as a man and a woman (dressed as a nurse) hold up hula hoops behind her, perhaps egging her on. Verene reminds viewers this is a staged tableau by leaving exposed his white tent, the people wandering in the background and the rows of orphanage beds. The girl’s listless expression is one of many confusing elements in the show: Verene’s scenarios are designed to make participants feel better about themselves, but it’s difficult to understand what’s happening and why. As a result, his photographs often feel like voyeuristic snippets of people’s fantasies.

Yet the project’s aesthetic results, varied subjects and overall concept represent a refreshing break from performance art’s usual self-absorption. By encouraging other people to get to know themselves through artifice, Verene achieves an impressive authenticity.