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Press Release

Cris Worley Fine Arts is pleased to announce Shannon Cannings: Sure Shot, featuring ten dynamic new works in oil on panel and canvas. The exhibition will open with an artist’s reception on Saturday, January 8th, from 5-8 pm, and will run through February 12th. Cannings will be giving an artist’s talk on January 8th at 5:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Shannon Cannings is known for her brightly colored, pop-inspired realistic depictions of plastic toy guns but a strong shift began appearing in the work in late 2020. Suddenly, the “target” emerged, the gun became a dual feature of conversation, and the dialog shifted. Questions begin to emerge around who or what is the target. Cannings admits that “you can’t paint a target and not acknowledge the first artist to make it an iconic symbol” and in this way she also makes a distinct nod to Jasper Johns.

Shannon Cannings was born in Bridgeport, CT and raised in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Syracuse University. Shannon has been included in over fifty juried and invitational exhibitions throughout the United States. In 2020, she had a solo exhibition at the South Plains College in Levelland, TX. In 2017, the Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Texas, included her in a three-person exhibition entitled, Making a Splash. In 2015, Shannon presented a solo show at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Abilene, Texas, and a two-person show with her husband and fellow artist, William Cannings, at the Underwood Center for the Arts in Lubbock, Texas.

For 20 years, Cannings has taught art students at Texas Tech University, and was recently named Assistant Professor of Practice in Drawing in 2020. In 2022, her work will be featured alongside contemporary artists Peter Saul, Yinka Shonibare and Laurie Simmons in the forthcoming book, Loaded: Guns in Contemporary Art by Susanne Ramljak. Shannon Cannings lives and works in Lubbock, Texas with her family, including a Jack Russell Terrier, Rocket, and two cats, Beans and Cheese.

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