Gallery for Small Sculpture

Throughout the long sage of human memory and history, animals have always been an essential part of our world: consumed as food, used for transportation or as instruments of war, personified as symbols of human behavior, appeared as protagonists in religious and spiritual stories, and offered comfort as companions and pets.

As with anything significant in the lives of humans, artists throughout time and across the continents have represented animals in their many guises—from the earliest paintings in the prehistoric caves of Europe to the often abstract images found in contemporary art. From Tusk to Tail: Animals and Art represented a cross-section of birds and beasts from around the world and was the second exhibition organized in partnership with the Buffalo Museum of Science. The Albright-Knox was grateful to the Buffalo Museum of Science for generously lending pieces from their extensive and impressive collection of ethnographic works, which were exhibited along with examples from the Albright-Knox’s collection.

Works in the exhibition were accompanied by wall text and audio guide entries for both adults and children. It was featured in the September 12 Gusto at the Gallery family evening entitled Family Night: Animals at the Albright-Knox, where visitors could participate in an animal treasure hunt, discover legends and myths from around the world, see live animals from Nickel City Reptiles, and take part in art-inspired puppet making.