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Art by Anna Kell on display in Thompson Gallery

||A piece from Kell’s “Escape From Cultivation”

Last updated February 14, 2017

By Tina Underwood

Art by Bucknell University art professor Anna Kell will be on display in Furman University’s Thompson Gallery, Roe Art Building Feb. 27-March 24. Thompson Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. A reception and talk with the artist is set for Friday, March 24, at 6 p.m. in the gallery.

A piece from Kell’s “Escape From Cultivation”

Her exhibition, Escape from Cultivation, is free and open to the public and is presented by the Furman University Department of Art.

Kell’s personal artwork is motivated by a desire to understand cultural attitudes toward nature and the environment, which she attempts to highlight through the appropriation and critique of mass-produced representations of idealized nature and the floral decorations imprinted on the many domestic artifacts that she uses.

In a statement, Kell says, “The abundance of idealized nature imagery in our homes and on our bodies—prolific and sensual florals, hunting camouflage in an oak leaf motif, eye-poppingly gorgeous tropicalia—is misleading and obscures the decreasing biodiversity of the natural environments beyond our doors.”

This can be seen in her recent series of paintings, inspired by the herbarium and other botanical conventions, Escape from Cultivation. Alongside the paintings, Kell will also show a sculptural installation piece composed of cast-off furniture.

Kell holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Art & Art History, University of Florida, and a bachelor’s degree in art from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

For more information about the exhibition, contact the Furman University Department of Art, 864-294-2995. Or visit the artist’s website at www.annakell.com.

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