SPECIMEN– Nine Investigations of Nature
Reflecting on ideas, memories, and obsessions, artists present personal views of nature

November 1 - 30, 2003

Debra Baxter
Kim Bennett
Mandy Greer
Sarah Hoffman
Margie Livingston
Margaret Meehan
Ana Lois-Borzi
Daria Tavoularis
Rachael Weinstein

Nine artists from across the country will present their explorations of the relationship between man and nature.

This exhibit’s title comes from both senses of the word specimen. The first meaning — a sample used for analysis or study — describes the product of artists who are each in their own way considering nature. The study of a specimen (animal, vegetable, mineral, or idea (is a work of the mind. Each is a container of memories and obsessions, and the pieces in this exhibition promise to be very personal.

The second meaning of the word specimen — a representative of the class of things to which it belongs — addresses the nature of the work in this exhibition. Rather than ask artists to respond to the ideas surrounding nature, the curators took the approach of inviting artists who are engaged in these questions as part of their regular practice.

Specimen was co-curated by Debra Baxter, Margie Livingston, and Daria Tavoularis. Baxter and Livingston are Seattle-based. Tavoularis recently moved from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. to attend graduate school at the University of British Columbia.

The curators — whose work will also be exhibited — invited artists to participate in hopes of establishing a dialog about how artists are using nature as a point of departure. The artists invited from across the United States include Kim Bennett (Brevard, NC), Sarah Hoffman (Minneapolis, MN), Mandy Greer (Seattle, WA), Ana Lois-Borzi (Minneapolis, MN), Margaret Meehan (Dallas, TX), and Rachael Weinstein (Providence, RI). Works will include drawing, installation, mixed media, painting, sculpture, and photography.