Biological Realms  

May 20 – August 16, 2024  

Artists:  

Angie Follensbee-Hall  

Jon Krasner  

Kerry St. Laurent  

Heather Stearns  

From botanical drawings to sculpture made from fungi, for centuries artists have looked to the biological realm for inspiration and materials. Mutualism is a term used in biology to describe a relationship between two living organisms that both benefit from one another. In an abstract sense, the reciprocity between art and nature can be interpreted as a kind of mutualism. The four contemporary artists in this exhibition each demonstrate how their relationship to nature has shaped their art practice.   

Angie Follensbee-Hall uses paper pulp and found materials to create richly textured sculptures that reference botanical forms. Kerry St. Laurent takes microbiology as her springboard, often incorporating cellular structures and other microscopic elements as a point of departure for her multi-media work. Heather Stearns explores the human form in found-object assemblages that reference the body’s respiratory system. Jon Krasner works across media to interrogate natural systems and translates them in art that celebrates the complexity of nature and biology. Each artist in their own way embraces the natural world as a source of inspiration, and in doing so, reminds the viewer of the preciousness of natural resources, the fragility of life and the wonders and joy of discovery.  

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About the artists 

Angie Follensbee-Hall 

My parents are both artistic, though not directly artists. From my mother, I learned to create passionately in my daily living, cooking, and homemaking, and in artistic and spiritual pursuits. From my father I found a love of nature, especially the woodlands of Vermont and New Hampshire. 

My artistic inspiration comes from the world of nature: the wisp of grass swaying in a winter wind, or the small sprout searching for the sun’s nourishment in spring. In each creation, I invoke a meditative quality reflecting upon the world of myth, story, and nature, suggesting a connection between all beings at their source. 

I love everything about being an artist: the endless ideas and inspiration, the messy art studio, building art, creating art, and exhibiting art. I have exhibited and sold many works of art over my career, nationally and internationally. My primary medium is handmade paper. For nearly 20 years I have explored the art of hand papermaking from both pre-processed and raw plant fibers. My art process is always evolving as I find new ways to be inspired. 

I transform many mixed media sources— rope, paper, paint, and botanicals— with inspiration drawn from the world of nature. I have long been inspired by world myths, religions, and classic fables. I am interested in the shared stories and archetypal symbolism of all humanity. The imagery from these stories will often emerge in my paper creations. In my work, I seek to describe the relationship between humans, the earth, and the heavens in an intuitive felt experience 

John Krasner  

I spent my childhood years in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts and completed my undergraduate education at Muhlenberg College as an art major with a liberal arts foundation. I received a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1990 from Pratt Institute with a concentration in painting and a minor in art history, and in 1994, earned a second M.F.A. in graphic design from Boston University, focusing on digital imaging and motion graphics.  

My multi-disciplinary work as an artist and designer allows me to combine the disciplines of painting, digital imaging, animation, and music composition. This convergence is a hallmark of my teaching and practice. Recent mixed media assemblages, digital montages, and short films combine original music and animation into immersive, time-based journeys. My assemblages demonstrate an intuitive process of manipulating and combining found materials to convey the incandescent beauty of the coast—specifically, the coexistence of natural and synthetic elements. The processes of digital manipulation and montage allow me to further explore the changing properties of light, color, and texture and investigate symbiotic relationships between mathematics and nature. 

Kerry St. Laurent is a visual artist from Western Massachusetts who lingers in the spaces between realism and abstraction, chaos and meticulous detail.  Life-curious and death-casual, her mixed-media work references nature, mapping, microbiology, architecture and memory, deconstructing the subjective lens and presenting impermanence as the grand unifier. She has recently focused on response work and collaboration with artists of different mediums, specifically writers and musicians. Her work has been exhibited locally and nationally and she has served as Artist-in-Residence at Hot Springs and Isle Royale National Parks. She teaches a variety of visual arts courses at Western New England University. 

Kerry received her BFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2004), and her MFA from the University of Hartford (2006), both with a concentration in painting. To gain a broader understanding of administration and pedagogy, she completed her EdD with a concentration in higher and postsecondary education in 2017. Her doctoral research investigated technology integration and transferable skills-building in introductory studio art curricula for non-majors. 

Heather Stearns 

I am an active dreamer and when I wake up every day, I have to find a way to connect to the earth again. I use collage art to process my human experience. 

My goal is to upcycle & reuse as much as possible and saving items from the landfill is a big motivation for me. My art materials are comprised of items from yard sales, thrift stores, second-hand home repair stores, and things gifted to me before getting thrown away. I do not custom print any images and only use what I find to create new works of art. I rely on the energy of the universe to dictate the images/words I find and am inspired to create works that invoke a range of emotions.  

Each work of art is original and unique – I do not copy or reprint any of my completed works.