FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
INSECT ART EXHIBIT COMING TO AUSTIN THIS FALL
Austin, Tex.—Art.Science.Gallery. is pleased to partner with ARKive.org and the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation to bring ECLOSION—a group exhibition of insect art—to Austin, Texas November 9–December 1, 2013. This week the gallery released an open call to artists from around the world to submit art related to insects and the field of entomology (the study of insects). Interested artists may submit up to three works for the juried group show by September 22, 2013 by visiting www.artsciencegallery.com/entomology.
The exhibition coincides with the 61st annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America which is expected to draw over 3,000 insect enthusiasts to the Austin Convention Center from November 10–13, 2013.
ECLOSION is co-curated by entomologist and artist Dr. Barrett Klein (University of Wisconsin–La Crosse; www.pupating.org) and ecologist and artist Dr. Hayley Gillespie (founder, Art.Science.Gallery.) and will be juried by several prominent entomologists who have also contributed creatively to their field of study.
Klein grew up in a family of artists in the Detroit area, and learned from them to appreciate the beauty of commonplace objects. “Even in Detroit it is easy to find an exquisitely diverse array of organisms,” says Klein. “I knew at the age of five that insects would play a permanent and pivotal role in my life. Having a love of art as a foundation, it was easy to embrace the ubiquitous and beautiful hexapod.”
Gillespie, a native of Forth Worth, Texas, was similarly inspired by art and science as a child. She founded Art.Science.Gallery. to foster new perspectives on the world that both art and science encourage. “Some people think that insects are gross, or that they’re all pests,” she says, “but that is not how entomologists see them. We want to show people the natural beauty of insects and the importance of insect biodiversity, science and conservation to our everyday lives. Art is a great way to do that.”
Art.Science.Gallery. is an art gallery and science communication space dedicated to art-science fusion of all kinds. This will be the first exhibition in the gallery’s new permanent space in Austin, Texas, scheduled to open November 9, 2013.
Biodiversity (color), copper etching with colored pencil © Barrett Klein 2008
