Clifton Hall Link
Also on view at the Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology April 24–May 15, 2015

A complex relationship exists between humans and nature. We are sometimes made to bear witness to nature’s destructive power, just as we are humbled by its sublime beauty. 

While tension often exists, humans continue to strive for a harmonious balance with the natural world. In this graceful dance, artists often find their inspiration. Nature has become the medium through which some artists featured in this exhibition create their works, using wood as a painting surface or adding flower petals to paint. Many works present nature as their subject, depicting its destructive forces or its sheer grandeur. 

Adaptability is essential to man’s coexistence with nature. As many works suggest, humans have adapted and learned to interact with nature by merging technological innovation with natural features, such as wires that intertwine with trees and bridges over bodies of water. Nature, too, has changed because of the presence of humans, and in many cases depends on our efforts to preserve and protect it. It is in this interdependence that humans and nature coexist.

This exhibition is organized by the 2015 Future Curators.

About the 2015 Future Curators

The 2015 Future Curators team is made up of twenty-one students in grades eleven and twelve: Lizzy Bamford (Williamsville East High School), Kayla Bowden (City Honors School), Alexandra Castiglia (Nichols School), Clare Galbo (Nardin Academy), Clara Garvey (Lewiston-Porter High School), Madison Huntington (Clarence High School), Natalie Jusko (Nichols School), Mikaela Kaufman (Kenmore West High School), Katrina Kenneweg (St. Mary's High School), Monet Kifner (PS 195: Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts), Elise Miller (Orchard Park High School), Jazmine Nijjar (Williamsville South High School), Anna Olejniczak (Williamsville East High School), Adler Papiernik (Canisius High School), Fritz Proctor IV (Niagara Falls High School), Alexander Quinn (St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute), Szenina Russo (Kenmore East High School), DeeAnn Stachowski  (PS 195: Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts), Olivia Takacs (Mount Mercy Academy), Liza Tretyakov (Orchard Park High School), and Grace Zabielski (Kenmore West High School).

Beginning in January 2015, this creative team of young aspiring art professionals has been learning what goes on behind the scenes at the Albright-Knox and using the museum's Collection and current exhibitions to begin thinking about art from the mindset of a curator. They are pleased to present the culmination of their experience, the 2015 AK Teens: Future Curators exhibition Coexistence: Humans and Nature.

Learn More about the AK Teens: Future Curators Program