Priska C. Juschka Fine Art is pleased to present the project 80 Year War by Brooklyn-based video artist Bryan Zanisnik. With exaggerated humor and adolescent naiveté, Zanisnik bridges past and present to subtly reflect on cross-generational concerns.

In this exhibition, Zanisnik will present two videos from his series 80 Year War—a video project that he initiated with his grandmother between the ages of 13 and 15. In this work, he filmed his grandmother and parents re-enacting several plots of war, immigration, and gangster predicaments. Rather than perceiving the original footage as raw material, Zanisnik considered it an archive from which he pulled various portions without manipulating them. Thus, culled from eight hours of overall footage, these short videos are the result of an extensive and insightful editing process.

Although the videos appear comical and nostalgic at first, a careful consideration reveals a thoughtful and conscientious reflection of present times. By employing humor as a method, Zanisnik is able to address weighty political issues, such as war and immigration, in a non-sermonizing yet assertive manner. In this way, he aims to facilitate a dialogue that stems from the constructed narratives themselves, and articulates our most pressing national concerns.

Zanisnik was born and raised in New Jersey, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He holds a BA in Art History from Drew University, NJ, and is an MFA Candidate in Combined Media at Hunter College, NY. His work has been included in exhibitions at various institutions, such as the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill, NY, The Jersey City Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts at Florida State University, and Exit Art, NY. He has been the subject of numerous awards, and has recently completed the Art Omi residency (2007).