Brett Kern, Inflatable Dinosaur Series: Tyrannosaurus Rex, 2013, ceramic.
Peaceable Kingdom: Animals, Real and Imagined
Bedford Gallery
1601 Civic Dr. Walnut Creek
March 3rd – May 19th, 2013
$5 | FREE first Tuesdays of the monthA juried show devoted to investigating our storied and rich relationship with the animal world,Peaceable Kingdom will invite prominent curators to assemble a collection of innovative and appealing works by national artists. This exhibition will explore the presence of animals in the visual arts, and how they appear as metaphors, totems, objects of fear, and sources of emotional attachment and affection. The history of human and animal interaction is filled with tales of failed domestication, unusual friendships, and fearsome predators. Human fascination with the animal kingdom has run the gamut from emotional connection, to economic exploitation, and even scientific curiosity. Throughout all of these interactions, however, the sense of wonder we feel when we encounter animal life has been an enduring theme that has informed their continued and abiding presence in the visual arts. This juried exhibition will encourage artists to meditate on these complex and diverse relationships, addressing such issues as antagonism, admiration, attachment, and even the politically charged issue of animal rights.