Solo Show : Archipelago : ADA Gallery : Richmond, VA : Nov 2011

I'm very pleased to be doing a show in my home town @ ADA Gallery - run by the wonderful John Pollard, also of Mulherin + Pollard Gallery (where I was recently in the group show Mundus Incognita) in NYC's Lower East Side.

Here's the Press Release from the show:

In Archipelago, Kendler's intricate works suggest the possibility of a visceral and intimate relationship with nature. Cross-pollinating drawing, sculpture and installation, Kendler employs the visual languages of fragility, complexity and ornamentation to echo the mysterious relationships of the natural world.  

The stories in Kendler's work are like those found in nature: enigmatic half-narratives -- often deeply uncanny. Her work reminds us that no matter how close we keep it, nature always surprises. As products of our environment, that strangeness is also within us.

Kendler's detailed watercolor drawings of 'islands' give the show its title. Upon each floating landscape, an ecosystem's story is played out.

Kendler has also created a series of sculptural objects culled from these drawn environments. Pennants commemorating extinct animals appear in the drawings as well as in the gallery space, made from brass and lacy-cutouts on translucent film. Other works in Archipelago include an installation based on the elaborate and colorful constructions of bower birds, the only animals know to make aesthetic choices to impress their mates.

With Archipelago, Kendler asks not just how do we as human beings affect nature, but how does nature affect us? She suggests that if we lose our connection to nature, then the human experience becomes impoverished. If we lose the wild, we may also lose the wildness within ourselves.

Archipelago is free and open to the public, and will be on view until December 31st.

Artists' Reception
Thursday Nov. 26th, 6-9pm

Gallery Hours
Wed. to Sat. 12-6 PM
and by appointment
(call to confirm)

ADA Gallery
228 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220