Flora and Fauna: Works by Stephanie Chambers & Lucy Engelman

Exhibition on view: August 5-October 1, 2017

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 5th 6:30-8pm

STEPHANIE CHAMBERS 

When I was little, I did only two things: make art and carefully study old issues of National Geographic. I thought I would grow up to be an explorer, but instead developed a deep wanderlust and appreciation for worlds different from my own, none of which is more exotic to me than the plant and animal kingdom. When I make art, my goal is to share the experiences I’ve had and to trigger people’s own experiences with nature, travel and animals.

Recently, I moved from my home of New York to Sydney, Australia. Instead of needing to escape NYC to find inspiration in nature, I am now living with it. Sydney is a city that’s fully integrated with nature and every piece of art starts with direct inspiration, often drawn from long bushwalks or bird-watching. I work with wood because it's natural and I like how I can change the surface by sanding layers of paint to build a new color or texture.

The Biodome series encapsulates many fears I have about this planet. Historically, biospheres have been used to test the viability of closed ecological systems to support human life in outer space. Concurrently, zoos are becoming our last lines of defense against extinction. What will our world look like when all the plants and animals are behind glass, out of balance? Nature enclosed is still beautiful, but humans are not separate from it. We are part of nature as mammals and I wanted to create the wildlife scenes in the Biodome series to reflect on this contradiction.

Lucy Engelman 

As an illustrator,  I have always found nature in my work. It seems to find its way there whether I mean for it to or not. This series is a meditation on Flora and Fauna in my everyday life. Through imaginings, anxieties, intense focus and moments of relaxation, the natural world always brings me back from wherever I've wandered off to and for that I am grateful. If celebrating nature in my work repays even an ounce of my debt of gratitude, then I will happily draw plants until the end of my days."