Embedded, 2013 Porcelain, wood, synthetic grass, h 7 x w 13 x d 9 in.
Bethany Krull: Where are the Wild Things?
Jan 26, 2014 - May 4, 2014
Overview
Bethany Krull is a Buffalo-based sculptor whose porcelain and mixed media animal sculptures illustrate our species complex and often complicated relationship with the rest of the natural world. Her work has been included in many regional, national and international exhibitions including Beyond the Brickyard at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT; The Ceramics Biennial at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH and Hot Rookies, at the Gyeonggi International Ceramics Biennial in Seoul, South Korea. Krull's most recent museum solo show, at the time of this exhibition, was held at the Meadows Museum in Shreveport, LA. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology and went on to participate in residencies at Genesee Pottery, The Armory Art Center, Goggleworks Center for the Arts and the Archie Bray Foundation. She maintains an active studio in Buffalo, New York.
According to the artist, Where are the Wild Things? investigated the integration of non-human animals into our own built environments, specifically the home and its surroundings. The home can be seen as a place that functions to hold nature at bay, keeping everything wild and unpredictable outside its walls.
However, there are always creatures that find their way in and take up residence whether unwanted or invited. Although humans take great measures to separate themselves from nature, and to keep the 'pests' away; we also cannot resist the need to be connected to that which we came from. In and around our homes the evidence of both our unease and our desire to be connected to the natural world is everywhere, however contrived and controlled it may be.
The Castellani Art Museum's TopSpin series featured a broad range of visual expressions, varied in media as well as message, and focused mainly on new and emerging artists. Tops Friendly Markets has sponsored the series since its inception.
Bethany Krull:Where are the Wild Things? is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.