Deus Ex Bark-ina is a group art exhibition dedicated to dogs. Like a deus ex machina in fiction, dogs were bred by people to solve a specific problem. While not as literal as Lassie coming from nowhere to rescue a child fallen into a well, some dog owners go so far as to say that their dogs have saved them. Dogs have long flanked male heroes in Renaissance paintings as a symbol of loyalty, companionship, and fidelity. But an exhibition exclusively centered around golden retriever energy may not be as compelling.
Anastasiya Taraseko depicts a dog on a leash running away from their owner. Kyle Johanson created a video game of a dog who has escaped from home. Juan Hinojosa collaged together images of pup play. Deus Ex Bark-ina explores dogs in addition to human narratives as a companion, laborer, and emotional prosthesis; but also as gregarious and vulnerable bodies that blur the line between love and work, tenderness and training, devotion and control, as well as affection and obedience.
Deus Ex Bark-ina: Curated by Michael Morgan
Michael Morgan (b. 1992, Syosset, Long Island) is an artist and curator whose work spans painting, sculpture, collage, and assemblage. Raised in a conservative suburb of Long Island, Morgan’s early experiences navigating his sexuality within a community at odds with his identity profoundly shaped his artistic voice. Exploring identity, loss, LGBTQ history, environmental issues, and societal division, his practice often draws attention to overlooked histories and underrepresented voices, including a project honoring Christine Jorgensen, the pioneering transgender figure who grew up in his hometown.
Morgan earned his B.A. in Environmental Sciences from Northwestern University in 2014. Following the passing of his father, he shifted his focus from a legal career toward art and art education. He went on to graduate from Columbia University with a second bachelor’s degree in visual arts. While at Columbia, he was also a graphic designer at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a finalist for the 2020 Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics for his writings on environmental theory and art, and inducted into the academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.
From 2024 - 2026, Morgan pursued his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Visual Arts at Cornell University. He curated Magnum O-Pspsps at Cornell University, a large-scale exhibition featuring over 40 artists that received coverage in Hyperallergic and Art Spiel. Morgan’s research has also been supported by a grant from the Cornell Council for the Arts.
Morgan has exhibited work at Sotheby’s, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, Columbia University, Cornell University, Roberson Museum, the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, and Ortega y Gasset Projects. He is the curator of Deus Ex Bark-ina at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art and will be an artist-in-residence at the Wassaic Project in fall 2026.