The Jean Paul Slusser Gallery, in conjunction with the Environmental theme Semester presents "Art and the Natural World" January 12 - January 28. The artists in this exhibition are connected by a common interest in forms which derive from the natural world. Some of the artists weave expressly environmental concerns into their work. Susan Goethel Campbell's drawings are an investigation of the aesthetics and conflict between nature and industry. In his ceramic work, Sadashi Inuzuka uses the metaphor of insects and microscopic organisms to question our place in the natural world. Ann Savageau also questions our species' role and fate on the earth through the transformation of discarded objects. Shawn Skabelund creates place-specific installatons which encourage viewers to think about the local communities, economies and ecosystems they inhabit. Joseph Trumpey's drawings deal with the loss of biodiversity caused by deforestation in tropical areas.

Others in the show choose an aspect of nature as a generative motif or locus from which to evolve imagery. Janie Paul uses landscape and natural forms in her paintings and prints to evoke the experience of memory, time and a sense of place. Takeshi Takahara's wood and paper pieces are derived from a interest in water and in the surprising conjuction of two distinct forces. Elaine Wilson's horizontally structured paintings and prints create both a visual and figural narrative based in images of grain fields and storage elevators of Washtenaw County.

The work in this exhibition includes a wide variety of approaches toward the subject of nature and the environment. What is common is that each artist has found a unique way to transform physical media and content into a compelling dialogue with form.

Curator: Janie Paul Lecturer, School of Art & Design

Sponsored by the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the School of Natural Resources.