statement

My recent interest is in early natural history art from the era now referred to as the Age of Discovery. From Maria Sibylla Merian in the 17th century to John James Audubon in the 19th century, many artists painstakingly and accurately illustrated the newly discovered natural world, giving their audience a scientific and aesthetic understanding of these new, rare and exotic discoveries. Concurrent with the Age of Discovery was the idea of a Cabinet of Curiosities. In these rooms were housed a personal collection of things of wonder — many coming from the newly discovered natural world but also containing rare and extraordinary man-made objects.

With the addition of an allegorical and narrative element, my current work continues to explore natural history art as well as the sense of wonder and curiosity found in the old Cabinets of Curiosities. The natural world, now mostly understood and familiar is also increasingly threatened, making it once again rare and exotic. Freed from the need to describe for science, I can describe the natural world and our interaction with it through an allegorical, social and political lens.

bio

born: 1958, Des Moines, Iowa

education

University of Arizona, MFA, 1984

Tyler School of Art of Temple University, BFA, 1981

selected awards/honors

State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, 1997

Award of Merit, "Arizona Biennial", Tucson Museum of Art, 1988

selected publications

art ltd; "Critic's Picks: Denver", p.66, July/August, 2013

American Art Collector, "Modern Times", p. 106-107, 2013

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Kevin Sloan, William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado, 2013

New Paintings, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 2013

The Naturalist's Notebook, Ironton Gallery, Denver, Colorado, 2013

Modern Times, Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, Florida, 2013

selected group shows

Annual Group Show, Ironton Gallery, Denver, Colorado, 2013

Random Acts of Time, Orange County Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California, 2012

Rejuvenation, Richard J. Demato Fine Art, Sag Harbor, New York, 2012