Sandy Skoglund: Enchanting Nature

Skoglund’s dream-like images of colorful animals against quotidian backgrounds evince the paradoxes between the natural environment and the manmade world

Published with McNay Art Museum and Paci Contemporary Gallery.

American photographer and installation artist Sandy Skoglund’s (born 1946) work drowns viewers in the ultra-saturated consciousness of contemporary life. From neon orange goldfish swimming in a blue bedroom to toxic green cats stalking around a kitchen, the conflict between the manmade world and the natural environment becomes an ongoing struggle--an eternal clash of culture and nature. Thus, the appropriately titled exhibition Enchanting Nature, and its corresponding catalog, showcases works from Skoglund’s entire career, emphasizing the ongoing themes in her art including ecology, the environment and interspecies kinship. It includes her most famous installations such as Revenge of the Goldfish and Radioactive Cats alongside the never-before-exhibited Fresh Hybrid (2008). Additionally, Skoglund’s recent photography series, The Outtakes revisits her prior photoshoots to recover alternative shots that were originally rejected.