Whitehot Magazine

Video: Mayme Kratz | Sleeping In The Forest | Phoenix, Arizona

 

By ERIC MINH SWENSON November 30, 2024

"Mayme Kratz’s work is emblematic, standing at the intersection of her life and her artistic practice. Possessing a deep love of the natural world, she has hiked and camped in many of the wild places and National Parks of the Southwest. These desert walks renew her sense of awe in the face of the enormity of the landscapes, the ephemeral radiance of its harsh environment and the delicate calibrations of these fragile ecosystems. They also provide her with material: seedpods, insect wings, cactus roots, bleached animal bones, leaves, grasses and flowers. Carefully organizing these organic elements into shapes, patterns and compositions, she casts them in resin.

Her work immortalizes and celebrates that which we all too often dismiss as detritus and reveals a luminous beauty in the ignored, overlooked and stepped-on. Her precise formal designs lead the viewer to contemplate the infinitely large, calling to mind the cosmos of stars and planets, as well as the impossibly small, alluding to cellular and crystalline structures. It is at once deeply personal and utterly universal." WM

Lisa Sette Gallery
210 East Catalina Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85012

 

Eric Minh Swenson

Eric Minh Swenson is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and photographer who documents the arts and culture of Southern California, including arts in many communities throughout the country. He has filmed numerous documentaries on artists, exhibitions, and cultural events. He documents art openings and exhibitions. He focuses on process, concept and craft in his films, while finding humor and essence in his subjects.

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