Throughout history the bee and the hive have been used as symbols to articulate
themes of perfection, utopianism, architecture, work, and slavery. And now,
in the twenty-first century, the rapid decline of bee populations has become
a harbinger of global environmental crisis’s. Over the past three years
Christopher Russell has been exploring the intense world of bees through
a series of ceramic sculptures. Bee Work comes out of the tradition
of scientific models and the decorative arts. Russell has many visual inspirations,
including Dutch still-life paintings and nature illustrations. For example,
in developing his compositions, Russell looked at John James Audubon's illustrations
with their stylized pairings of birds and plants. His fascination with the
interrelationship between bees and plants can be seen in Pollen, based on
the magnified structure of the nourishing substance that carries a plant’s
genetic material. Installed here, Bee Work offers a rare view of
the bee in the context of the garden.
Inspired by visits to Henry Mercer’s Fonthill in Bucks County, PA, Christopher
Russell began producing architectural ceramics in 1991, first for his own
loft and then for private clients. His custom tile projects have been featured
in the New York Times, New York Newsday, Food & Wine,
and Tile and Stone. His sculptural ceramics have been exhibited at
the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; the Clay Center, Philadelphia,
PA; and Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY. He participated in the Kohler
Arts Center Arts/Industry Residency Program in Sheboygan, MI, and was a
visiting artist at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Edgecomb, ME. He
earned his BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
Jennifer Mc Gregor
Curator, Wave Hill
Survey 2007-2008 [view images]