Bryan Warner:
Vacant Stories: Crowded Pictures

Jul 19 - Aug 30, 2025 

Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia presents Bryan Warner's first solo exhibition "Vacant Stories: Crowded Pictures." In this show Warner uses ink and watercolor to paint still lives of toys and domestic interiors. He aims to evoke the worldbuilding of Manga, filtered through the influence of Western Art History. His work is inspired by anime action figures, storytelling devices from Manga, and the etchings and drawings of Francisco de Goya. Warner's paintings juxtapose the fantastical with the prosaic to suggest a world that is informed by Japanese and American culture, but not fully either. A place that floats between the exuberance of childhood fantasy and the sober ache of nostalgia in adulthood. As part of this exhibition the artist will spend time each Saturday drawing in the gallery to add more drawings to the show, and to continue the narrative suggested by the paintings.

Bryan Warner is an artist and educator who lives and works in Southern New Jersey. His work is influenced by Japanese culture, nostalgia, fatherhood, and growing up in a multi-racial family. The act of painting becomes a stew of exploration, nostalgia, and the complications of cultures sharing space. Warner works to create a world of beauty, whimsy, cruelty, and dreams. He has shown his art nationally in NYC, Chicago, Texas, California, Florida, and Philadelphia