by Whitney Stansell

Whitney Stansell is interested in the rich tradition of storytelling that is so prevalent in the American South, the way stories and histories are pieced together and solidified in the listener’s mind, then retold and passed along. She has taken this tradition and translated the stories into visual art forms through drawings, paintings, sculptures, and other experiential ways.

For the last few months Whitney and her three children have spent the majority of their lives outside where they experienced the comfort and solace of nature.  The imagery in the exhibition follows six children into a forest filled with flowers, hidden hollows and many wild things.  Neither the wild things nor the children fear the other.  In this place, there are no limits, discipline, or rules, so the children do as they please. Whitney is interested in nature as both a sanctuary and a place of resilience.  Flowers that die in winter always return in the spring.

To view the works in the exhibition visit Whitney’s artist page.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Whitney Stansell was born in Greenville, SC. She received her BFA from the University of Georgia in Fiber Arts and her MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design/Atlanta in painting. Her body of work ranges from fibers, sculpture, painting and drawing, to collaborative works with her husband Micah Stansell in film and video works, and large-scale public art installations. Her work often explores ideas of family history, narrative traditions. Stansell’s work has been reviewed in numerous publications including Art in America, FiberARTS Magazine, and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Honors include a NMWA 2020 Artist to Watch, Forward Arts Prize, the Herradura Art Prize. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Cornell University, and SCAD-Atlanta, Lacoste France, and Hong Kong. She currently resides in Historic College Park with her husband and filmmaker, Micah Stansell, and their three children.