Cryptogam

New works by Brian Knep and Natalie Andrew

 October 19 – November 25, 2014

Cryptogam
New works by Brian Knep and Natalie Andrew

October 19 – November 25, 2014
Opening reception: Thursday October 23, 5-7 p.m.

In Cryptogam, artists Brian Knep and Natalie Andrew explore unconventional reproduction. Cryptogams, from the Greek word for “hidden marriage”, are plants that reproduce without flowers or seeds. In their works, the artists, who are married but work independently, play with growth, multiplication, variation, and propagation.

Starting from grainy photographs of failed embryos, Andrew builds living reproductions from mosses, ferns, and slime molds – all cryptogams – and inks made from their spores. These gardens depict aspects of the emotional journey of infertility while providing a contemplative visual experience rooted in components of mythic and folkloric scenery – places where magic can happen. To create his sculptures, Knep sets up mathematical systems that mimic natural patterns. He seeds the systems with models of early-stage embryos, lets them develop, and builds the results. The pieces are a mix of control and lack of control; the determinism of the systems balanced against the intuition and desires of the creator.

Natalie Andrew is an artist, biologist, engineer, and cognitive-scientist researching creativity, myxomycete biology, paradigm shifts, and the ingredients of wonder. She has exhibited at the McColl Center for Visual Arts, Axiom Gallery, Boston Cyberarts Gallery, Nave Gallery Annex, and was a 2013 Massachusetts Cultural Council award recipient. A biologist at Harvard University, Andrew has published in Nature Cell Biology (where her illustrations made the cover) and other journals. She has a Doctorate in Biology, a Masters in Cognitive Science, and a Bachelor in Physics with Electronics, all from the University of Birmingham, England. Natalie currently lives and works in Cambridge, MA.

Brian Knep is a media artist whose works range from large-scale interactive installations to microscopic sculptures for nematodes. He was the first artist-in-residence at Harvard Medical School, working side-by-side with scientists, using their tools and techniques to explore alternative meanings and ways of connecting. Knep’s Deep Wounds, commissioned by the Office for the Arts at Harvard University, has won awards from Ars Electronica, the International Association of Art Critics, and Americans for the Arts, who selected it as one of the best public art projects of 2007. He has also shown at the Denver Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, RISD Museum,  Aldrich Center for Contemporary Art, and others; and he has grants and awards from Creative Capital, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the LEF Foundation, among others. Knep holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Computer Science, both from Brown University. He studied ceramics at the Radcliffe Ceramics Studio and glass blowing at Avon and Diablo Glass. His publications have appeared in computer graphics and computer-human interaction journals. Knep lives and works in the Boston area and is represented by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, NY.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS:

ALUMNI MIXER:
Thursday, October 23 from 4 – 5 p.m.

Reconnect!

Join fellow Suffolk alumnus for a guided tour of the exhibition Crytogam: New work by Brian Knep and Natalie Andrew, an interdisciplinary exhibit by two artist/scientists whose work is featured in the gallery. This coincides with the start of Suffolk University’s Homecoming Weekend.

A CONVERSATION:
Thursday, November 6 from 1 – 2 p.m. 

A conversation about collaboration and the synergy of science and art.

Artists Brian Knep and Natalie Andrew with Martha Richmond, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Suffolk University.