ARTIST STATEMENT
I create text-based works, collages, and installations examinging the influence of pesticide companies on our food system. A deep part of my focus has been how agrichemical companies Bayer-Monsanto and Dow Chemical use language and visuals to shape public perception and downplay the harms of its products.
Central to my practice is making work at the intersection of art, science, and culture, and the potential for art to bring new perspectives to contemporary scientific issues. Using this cross-disciplinary approach, I aim to create research-based work that engages the viewer on an aesthetic level and offers an opening for increased awareness and critical consideration.
BIOGRAPHY
Kirsten Stolle is a visual artist working in collage, text-based images, and installation. Her research-based practice, at the intersection of art, science, and culture, examines the global influence of agrichemical companies on our food system. Delving into propaganda and greenwashing, Stolle’s recent projects have looked into agribusiness disinformation, corporate advertising strategies, and the historical ties between Bayer-Monsanto and chemical warfare.
Kirsten was born in Newton, Massachusetts, lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for 19 years, and currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the North Carolina Museum of Art, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, San Jose Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Solo exhibitions include NOME Projects, Berlin; Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC; Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC; Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA; Turchin Center for the Visual Arts/Appalachian State University, Boone, NC; Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC; Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Roy G Biv Gallery, Columbus, OH; and Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, NYC.
Select group exhibition highlights include the North Carolina Museum of Art, Weatherspoon Art Museum, San Jose Museum of Art, The Mint Museum, Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Tweed Museum of Art, Riverside Art Museum, Triton Museum of Art, Power Plant Gallery/Duke University, Datscha Radio/Berlin, Terrain Biennial, Fridman Gallery, Lesley Heller Workspace, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The Billboard Creative, Jack Fischer Gallery (2-person show), and the Torpedo Factory.
Her work has been published in Harper’s, The Atlantic, Photograph, Topic Magazine, The Billboard Creative, TAZ Berlin, Le Monde diplomatique, Berlin Art Link, SLEEK, Made in Mind Magazine, Poetry Magazine, Creators Project, Widewalls, Spolia Literary Magazine, Burnaway, LEONARDO, Vhcle Magazine, DIALOGIST, Slice Magazine, New American Paintings, ElevenEleven, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and Manifest International Drawing Annual.
She is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, a Dave Bown Project Award, as well as grants from the North Carolina Arts Commission, San Francisco Arts Commission, Artists’ Fellowship Inc., Puffin Foundation, Change Inc., and the Creative Capacity Fund. She has been awarded residencies at the Ucross Foundation, Millay Arts, Blue Mountain Center, VCCA, Marble House Project, Willapa Bay AiR, Turkey Land Cove Foundation, Oregon College of Arts & Crafts, Spiro Arts Center, Anderson Center, and Ballinglen Arts Foundation.
Stolle received a BA in Visual Arts from Framingham State University and completed studies at Richmond College (London, England) and Massachusetts College of Art (Boston, MA).