Curatorial Statement
Between January and March, 2020, public life ground to a halt globally. Worlds contracted like never before in living memory as stay-at-home measures were observed in all of the earth’s bustling human settlements. Skies were blue again where they’d been choked with smog, birds chirped in peaceful mornings devoid of highway din, seismologists actually heard the inner machinations of the earth once drowned out by human activity. What other infinite ripples did this unprecedented global pause create in the myriad of spaces intimate to each of us, worldwide?
As artists we have long drawn inspiration from the environments that we inhabit, whether we are drawing attention to fires heightened by climate change or terrain shaped by time and marred by plastic. Intrinsic in our fascination is how humans shape and change environments, for better and for worse. This pandemic has altered our landscapes in ways we are only beginning to understand. For many of us, this has meant a turn inward and an opportunity to see our homes and neighborhoods with new eyes.
LandMark brings artwork to people directly, in our strange new worlds, in the neighborhoods that we are reacquainting ourselves with, providing new inroads to experiencing art. In a time that is marked by widespread isolation, these works are a direct connection between artists and people, fostering a sense of discovery and community.
Curators
Anna Kaye
Anna Kaye was born in Detroit, Michigan and now lives in Lakewood, Colorado where she creates drawings, paintings, videos, and sculptures that are inspired by the natural world. Witnessing the urban decay from de-industrialization as a child enhanced her sense of empathy, compassion, love for diversity and justice, and reverence for the natural world. She earned her B.S. in geology and fine art at Skidmore College, NY. She continued her education at Yale in painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography. She earned her M.F.A. at Washington University in St. Louis where she was awarded the Laura and William Jens Scholarship and a teaching on record position. Kaye’s artwork is a part of international, private, public, corporate, and museum collections including Home & Garden Television’s Green Home. Interviews and reviews include Colorado Matters, Colorado Life Magazine, 5280 Magazine, Westword, and the Denver Post. She curates large-scale exhibitions that promote social action and connectivity. She is a former Visiting Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of Drawing at Metropolitan State University. She currently teaches at the Denver Art Museum and is represented by the Sandra Phillips Gallery in Denver. Kaye donates a percentage of all sales annually to environmental funds.
Kalliopi Monoyios
Kalliopi Monoyios is a visual creative dedicated to communicating the wonder of the natural world to a wide and varied audience. Beginning her career as a science illustrator for the prominent paleontologist Neil Shubin at The University of Chicago, she was the first to bring the fossil discovery Tiktaalik roseae to life. Her illustrations have appeared inside and on the covers of top peer-review journals as well as in three popular non-fiction books, including The New York Times best-seller, Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin. In 2011, she co-founded Symbiartic, a blog covering the intersection of science and art for Scientific American. Now, driven by the conviction that science communicators operating in all spheres are a critical part of creating a scientifically literate public, she is developing new avenues of public engagement with science via her own art and curated exhibits while also leading an international group of over 800 visual science communicators as President of the GNSI.
Partners
LandMark is possible because of generous funding and gracious support from the City of Arvada (via the Arvada Arts and Culture Commission) and the City of Lakewood (through a partnership between the City of Lakewood's Heritage, Culture & the Arts (HCA) division and the City of Lakewood's Parks division). In any normal year, we would be grateful for their efforts but are especially so this year when they face staff shortages and other limitations from the pandemic. Thanks to both cities for bringing such vibrant art into the public sphere for all to enjoy.
We are also grateful for the support of local businesses Arvada Rent-Alls and Western Native Seed and for grants from the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators' Education Fund.