This is the final installment in a series of posts highlighting artists from Dysfunctional, curated by Roberto Lugo, on display at Pewabic through May 14, 2017.
NATALIE KUENZI
HANDS ARE LIKE FLOWERS (WE CAN BE THEM TOO), 2016
Crocheted recycled plastic, reclaimed stoneware, acrylic, glue
Natalie Kuenzi’s work draws upon both the pristine and the discarded in nature to encourage viewers to reimagine what is beautiful in both natural beauty and that which is discarded.
Kuenzi earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from Western State Colorado University and a Master of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. She has exhibited at the Gallery at Delaware County Community College in Philadelphia, the Katzen Art Center in Washington, D.C., and at Gallery 126 in Gunnison, Colo., among others.
SHANI RICHARDS
BULLETPROOF, 2015
Aluminum can tabs and jump rings
Shani Richards explores materials, objects and body adornment throughout her work including “Bulletproof,” a 2015 piece resembling modern chainmail that includes 36 x 30 inches of aluminum can tabs and jump rings made to look like a zip-up hoodie, placed on the ground to resemble a chalk outline. The piece is said to represent gunned-down Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
Richards received her Master of Fine Arts from the State University of New York, New Palz in 2016.