Dana Sherwood: Animal Appetites and Other Encounters in Wildness
Dana Sherwood: Animal Appetites and Other Encounters in Wildness
May 21, 2022-September 18, 2022
Over the past decade Dana Sherwood (b. 1977, Long Island, New York) has launched
some of her most significant art projects from kitchens around the globe. Stretching the
boundaries of conventional artistic production, Sherwood creates art with food, arranges
it beautifully in backyards, forests, or beaches and invites wild animals to feast under
her camera’s watchful lens. The resulting films, sculpture installations, and paintings
reveal Sherwood’s pioneering approach to understanding humans’ relationship with the
environment and all of its creatures. Each experiment underscores the unpredictability
of nature and encourages audiences to contemplate how animals have adapted to the
encroachment of urban and suburban development. Drawing from myth, literature, and
fairy tales, Sherwood’s unique practice imagines a world where human and nonhuman
animals are more closely intertwined. She builds on Feminist and Eco-Art movements
codified since the 1970s to investigate the female experience, challenge narratives that
have subjugated women, and engage with the binary of “the domestic and the wild.”
Though her work is avant-garde and involves challenging ideas, Sherwood’s method is
built on the relatable traditions of cooking, communicating, and hospitality toward all
beings in our ecosystem.
Recognizing our common ground with these subjects as the site of the Lyme Art
Colony (most active ca. 1900–1937), the Florence Griswold Museum invited Sherwood
to be an Artist-in-Residence. During 2021 she created two commissions inspired by our
shared respect for animals, the environment, and women’s history. As the first museum
survey of Sherwood’s oeuvre, this presentation seeks to encourage conversation about
environmental awareness, the sources of our cuisine, gender equality, and the many
ways in which humans and the natural world are connected. Bon appétit!
This exhibition is curated by Jennifer Stettler Parsons, Associate Curator,
Florence Griswold Museum
All works in these galleries are by Dana Sherwood and courtesy of the artist and Denny
Dimin Gallery, New York, unless otherwise noted
This exhibition has been made possible by the generous support of Connecticut
Humanities, the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut
Office of the Arts, The Aeroflex Foundation, Mr. Andy Baxter, Mr. and Mrs. Robert D.
Webster, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Moore, Wayne and Barbara Harms, Bouvier Insurance, Mr.
and Mrs. Jeb Embree, as well as donors to the Museum’s Annual Fund.
