The artists of “Freak of Nature” adopt natural imagery as a central point of inquiry in their work. Expressions of human, plant, animal, insect life and landscape range from the realistic, mutated, beautiful, cliché, surreal, psychedelic, romantic and kitsch. This reflects a range of responses to the current sentiment of ecological disaster and genetic modification; including appreciation of the elegance of natural forms as well as disenchantment with environmentalist ideals. The use of visual references to science textbooks and commercial illustration are utilized to comment on the commoditization of natural life as an abstract entity to
be manipulated.

November 6-29, 2008
Conceptualized by Lisa Ostanpinski
Co-curated by Lisa Ostapinski and Gabe Scott

These artists investigate the interaction between humans and the environment including both reverence and destruction of the natural world. This highlights the contemporary complexity of human response and interpretation of nature as well as global environmental crises. Many of the artists in “Freak of Nature” celebrate the inherent beauty of natural imagery as well as ask the viewer to consider the current implications of human lifestyle choices. In this context, the expression “Freak of Nature” serves both as a metaphor for the anomalous expression of nature as well as reference to consequences of human interference.

Artists:
Allison Kendall
Amanda Smith
Alexis Mackenzie
Henry Gunderson
Colleen Sanders
Andrew Schoultz
Hilary Pecis
Lisa Ostapinski
Hannah Stouffer
Casey Jex Smith
Josh Keyes
Jacob Tillman
Christopher Russell
Matthew Hart