A Bestiary

Bradford Marrow’s A Bestiary contains prints by many artists, including Kiki Smith. Each of the 36 chapters focuses on a different animal and artists were asked to illustrate the stories. The author initially created this book as a joke for his friends, but it turned into a larger project dealing with life issues from animals’ innocent perspectives. Only 100 copies of this book were printed, of which 50 were put up for sale. Smith created the Anemone and Bat images for the book. Anemone (displayed) was created with a linoleum cut print. This image is light and subtle, a stylistic departure from much of Smith’s work. The tentacles of the anemone look almost like they were created with watercolor paint. Created with intentional delicacy, the anemone demonstrates that even the smallest creatures are important to the earth’s dynamic.

–Alea Abrams ’12, Gund Gallery Associate