Traveling Landscapes by Kathleen Vance: With the series Traveling Landscapes, Vance creates miniature landscapes inside vintage suitcases and trunks. The bucolic scenes harken to a place out of time and a romanticism of nature, with lush foliage and flowing streams. These relaxing scenarios consider personal land ownership, water rights and the need for stewardship and preservation of our green areas and water sources. These works bring nature back into ones every day life and the hurried pace of each person’s travels can be slowed to a moment of respite for contemplation and reflection.
Kathleen Vance’s Traveling Landscape: Precious Cargo installation incorporates multi-stacked rows of found and reclaimed vintage luggage, replicating the look of passenger cargo on a steam ship. Tightly condensed into one large grouping on raised pallets, selected cases are presented with the lids fixed open to reveal depictions of lush landscapes with flowing water. Light emanating from the raised lids of the suitcases, steamer trunks and luggage attract the viewer to discover miniature natural scenes of forests, rolling hills, and grassy knolls; active with sound of trickling streams and running rivers. This installation extenuates the desire for “untouched” natural environments, and the claims and proprietorship that are placed on plots of land, which carries over to water rights. This installation is the embodiment of the concept that our natural resources are precious cargo to be protected and watched over with good stewardship.
All images by Kathleen Vance.
Kathleen Vance is an environmental artist who creates projects that connect people to local aspects of nature that are overlooked or underappreciated.
Vance received her B.F.A. from Pratt Institute and her M.F.A. from Hunter College in sculpture. She has received numerous grants and awards for her artwork including: a travel grant to research the geo-thermal regions of Iceland, a grant from the Puffin foundation for public sculpture, a development grant from Aljira, Center for Contemporary Art in conjunction with the Creative Capital Foundation, and a grant from the Brooklyn Arts council which aided the development and implementation of an outdoor community based art project in East New York. Ms. Vance was artist in resident in Berlin, Germany, presenting a workshop on environmental arts in connection with the Grunewald Parks Department in Germany.Her installations and sculptures have been featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, the Bruce Museum, VOLTA New York, Orlando Museum of Art, EXPO Chicago, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the the Peeler Art Center, and the the Weisman Art Museum. Her installation, “Brandywine River” was commissioned in conjunction with the “Natural Wonders” exhibition at Brandywine River Museum of Art. Her works are currently on view at the Weism.
