Curatorial Statement
Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, October 9, 2023 at 10 am MT
RLCC is pleased to host a birds and fish themed exhibition once again, guest curated by our Executive Director David Hiltner, and his artist wife Maggy.
About this show, David and Maggy say:
Since the first iteration of birdsandfish, curated by us for CityArts in Wichita in 2004, pots and ceramic sculpture depicting birds and fish have become ubiquitous in our collection. Beyond David’s obvious affinity to these creatures as a sportsman, a good question is why do these winged and scaled creatures fascinate and attract us and the artists who feature them? Birds and fish are on one hand familiar and common, and on the other some of the most unknowable and mysterious animals. When they swim off to their unseeable depths or fly away to their hidden nests we can imagine their metaphorical lives and anthropomorphize them to be like us in our private homes. Their communication with songs and calls, nest-building, murmurations and flocks, shoaling and schooling, migrations, and other unique behaviors and characteristics are worthy of examination, and of course, the illimitable variations of their patterning and form give artists a lot to work with.
Participating artists include Dean Adams, Wesley Anderegg, Kelsey Bowen, Christina Erives, Shanna Fliegel, Julia Galloway, Steve Godfrey, Benjie Heu, Kate MacDowell, Kelly McLaughlin, Jenny Mendes, Ron Meyers, Boomer Moore, Jason Walker, Michaelene Walsh, Cathy Weber, and Janis Mars Wunderlich