Sara Swink
This body of work, "One's Own Nature," explores ideas about how the natural world intersects with one’s psychological nature. Human figures interact with animals, blatantly appropriating certain attributes in an offhand attempt to express instinctual urges. Animal figures stand in for human psychological processes providing a humorous look at our complexity and folly. Our way of life increasingly distances us from nature, creating the illusion that we are superior; yet we long for it, know we are simply a part of it, and mourn its demise. This work could be seen as a feeble attempt to right something that has gone terribly wrong.
Kentree Speirs
My artwork has always drawn inspiration from the natural world. I'm awed by the raw beauty and the drama of untamed places, and my heart and mind are drawn to them. Silence is an inspiring presence in remote places, and I work to bring that presence to life in my paintings. Likewise, stillness and movement are intrinsic elements in nature, and their expression is important in my work. Yet I live in an urban world. I spend my days exploring my relationship to the landscape.