happy tree friends (part 2) at paragraph april 17-june 4
Happy Tree Friends (Part II) at Paragraph, April 17-June 4, features work by Kurt Flecksing (Kansas City), Ke-Sook Lee (Kansas City), Hmh Services (Kansas City), Sarah Vandersall (Kansas City), BJ Vogt (St. Louis, MO), and Chris Wildrick (Syracuse, NY). It is the second component of a two-part exhibition project curated by CSF Associate Director Kate Hackman featuring artworks that depict, reference, incorporate, document, and otherwise derive or draw inspiration from trees.
Happy Tree Friends (Part II) focuses primarily on exhibition-specific installation-based works, creating an immersive, interactive, multi-sensorial experience for viewers. Works include Root, a new installation by St. Louis based artist (and KCAI alumni) B.J. Vogt, which incorporates motion sensors and tree limbs to form a connection between the synaptic connections in the brain and the branching structures of trees; Tree Woman and Tree Woman Leaf, two new related installations by Ke-Sook Lee, employing leaves and bark gathered by the artist as sculptural elements and surfaces for drawings; and several works from an ongoing project by Syracuse, NY-based artist Chris Wildrick titled The Best Tree in the World. An installation of seating made from raw wood by Kurt Flecksing will serve as the gathering space for a series of tree-related lectures and conversations by area arborealists on Saturday afternoons in May (exact dates to be announced.)
View photos of this exhibition. Read Steve Brisendine’s review of B.J. Vogt’s work. Read Steve Brisendine’s review of Ke-Sook Lee’s work. Read Steve Brisendine’s review of Sarah Vandersall’s work.