Bio

Beth Krensky is a professor of art education and the Area Head of Art Teaching at the University of Utah. She is an artist, activist and educator. She received her formal art training from the Boston Museum School. She has exhibited widely throughout the United States and internationally. She is a founding member of the international artist collective, the Artnauts. Her work is intended to provoke reflection about what is happening in our world as well as to create a vision of what is possible.

She is also a scholar in the area of youth-created art and social change. She received a master’s degree with a focus on critical pedagogy and art education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She co-founded and spent a decade as Artistic Director for the award-winning youth arts/service/action organization, Project YES (Youth Envisioning Social change). Her co-authored book, Engaging Classrooms and Communities through Art: A Guide to Designing and Implementing Community-Based Art Education, was published by AltaMira Press in 2009.

Statement

“I am a gatherer of things—objects, words, spirit—and a connector of fragments, to make us whole.

 

My work responds to the natural or built environment while providing a refuge. My pieces both reference and are relics from real or imagined rituals. I create objects and performative gestures as a contemplative act. Much of the work is intended to be portable and cross boundaries as a metaphor for movement within and across the multiple layers of shared or contested existence over time.

 

My practice is rooted in a socio-historical memory of place. I use art as a tool for highlighting and creating human experiences that are both shared and unique. I see the relationship between artists and the public sphere as inextricably linked. The arts offer the possibility of transformation on both an individual and societal level by opening up a free space where anything is possible. It is this free space that allows people to name themselves, envision a different reality, and engage in the re-making of their world.”

 

CV

EDUCATION

 

2002 Ph.D. Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice, The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

 

1991 Ed.M. Multicultural Arts Education and Critical Pedagogy, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

1988 B.F.A. Sculpture, School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts

 

 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

 

2016- present Professor, Department of Art and Art History, College of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

 

SOLO/TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)

 

2020
Dispatch from Solitude #1: Walking the Unknown Path, Solo Performance, Social Distancing & Art Virtual Series, Ogden Contemporary Arts, Ogden, Utah, June 5
https://www.facebook.com/ogdenfirst.org/videos/2732652313726575

 

2016
Portable Sanctuaries, CCA Christensen Gallery, Granary Art Center, Ephraim, Utah, February-April

 

2013
On Sin and Redemption: On Line Exhibition (with Andi Arnovitz), Sh’ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas, August http://shma.com/2013/08/online-exhibition-on-sin-and-redemption/

 

2011
Beth Krensky: Portable Sanctuaries, Salt Lake Arts Council Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah, May-June

 

Beth Krensky: Portable Sanctuary #3, 3///3: Three Walls on Wednesdays, Athens, Greece, March
http://www.3wow.org/index.html
http://www.3wow.org/photos-beth.html http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.198603663506164.51102.133244540042077

 

2009
Motherhood and Revolution (with Sama Alshaibi), California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California

 

We Make the Road by Walking (with Sama Alshaibi) ,La Galería De La Misión De Senecú, Ysleta Independent School District, El Paso, Texas

 

2008
We Make the Road by Walking (with Sama Alshaibi), Dinnerware Artspace, Tucson, Arizona

 

2007
We Make the Road by Walking (with Sama Alshaibi), Mizel Museum, Denver, Colorado
http://www.g-riot.com/website_mizel/

 

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)

 

2020
The Walls Between Us, Center for Visual Art, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, August-October

 

Loss, Virtual Exhibition, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, September

 

Person and the Otherness of Nature, International Virtual Exhibition, Pragmata Collective, London, July-August

 

The Space Between Us, Site Specific Virtual Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah, https://sitessetforknowledge.org/2020/05/26/the-space-between-us-exhibition-in-salt-lake-city/, June-October

 

My Country: Dreams and/or Reality

Brodac Gallery, Sarajevo, Bosnia

Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo, The Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia

Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Bosnia, February

 

Globalocation II

Morris Graves Museum, Eureka, California, April

University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, North Carolina, February

 

Connections

Artificum Gallery, Villaviciencio, Colombia, January-February

Guayupe Gallery, Villavicencio, Colombia, March-April

National University of Colombia, Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia, June

House of Culture, Arauca, Colombia, August

 

2019
Connections, Universidad de Los Llanos, Biblioteca Jorge Boshell Manrique, Villavicencio, Meta Colombia, November – December

 

Turning Points, Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Pen, Cambodia, November

 

Invictus

Makerere University Art Gallery, Kampala, Uganda, September-October

 

Global Livingston Institute, Entusi, Uganda, June-August

 

Bodies in Motion, Millepiani, Rome, Italy, https://www.loosenart.com/pages/news-bodies-in-movement-exhibition, February

 

(Dis)content

Universidad de Los Llanos in Villaviciencio, Colombia, November

Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February

 

Genesis, Dab Art, Online Exhibition, www.dabart.me, January-March

 

Utah’s 15: The State’s Most Influential Artists, Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah, January-March

 

 

2018  

 

Wounds, Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, Bethlehem, Palestine, November

 

Site Lines: Recent Work by U of U Faculty, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah, September-January 2019

 

Connections, European House, Zagreb, Croatia, September

 

Hegira & Other Passages, Gradska Galerija, Bihac, Bosnia, September

 

Alfred Lambourne Prize Exhibition (Winner:

 

Movement), Sorensen Unity Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, September

 

Liminal Space, DMZ Museum, Gangwon-do, South Korea, June-December

 

Roots and Branches, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, June-November

 

Jerusalem Between Heaven and Earth (Curator: Ori Z. Soltes), Derfner Judaica Museum, Bronx, NY, January-March

 

American Art in The New Millenium

El Barrio La Madrid, Villavicencio, Meta, Colombias

Bilblioteca Del Municipio de Taraira, Vaupes Colombia Comunidad Indigena Cubeo

Salón Departmental de Arte Visuakes del Meta Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia

Salón, Universidad de Los Llanos Departmental de Arte, Villavicencio, Colombia

Salón Departmental de Arte, Acacias, Meta, Colombia

Galería Artificio, Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia

 

2017  

 

Jerusalem Between Heaven and Earth (Curator: Ori Z. Soltes), Hamachtarot Museum, 3^rd Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem, Israel, October-November

 

Sacred Spaces: Archetypes and Symbols, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT, October-January 2018

 

Far from the Front Lines (Curator: Dorit Jordan Dotan), Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Illinois, September

Contemporary Landscape, CICA Museum (Curator: Leejin Kim), Gimpo, South Korea, June-July

 

Science Inspires Art: Biodiversity/Extinction, Silva Gallery, The Pennington School, Pennington, New Jersey, March-April

 

Meta Journey

The Historical Museum, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February<>/p>

Gradska Galerija Bihać, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February

 

Collect: Recent Acquisitions from the State of Utah Fine Art Collection & Salt Lake County Art Collection, Alice Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, January-March

 

Souvenir: A travelling exhibit of work by members of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers, in collaboration with Marnie Powers-Torrey

Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, Jan.-March

Denver Public Library, Denver, CO, April-June

University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, July-Sept.

 

Globalocation

Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, March-June

Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan.-March

Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery, Broward College, Davie, Florida. November- January, 2018

 

2016  

 

Globalocation, RedLine, Denver, Colorado, November-December

 

Rally ‘Round the Flag of Justice (Curator: Linda Weintraub), RedLine, Denver, Colorado, November-December

Souvenir, in collaboration with Marnie Powers-Torrey, Phoenix Public Library, Oct.-Dec

 

Social Justice: It Happens to One, It Happens to All, St. Mary’s College Museum of Art, Moraga, California, September-December

 

Zeitgeist

Greatmore Studios, Capetown, South Africa, July

Harare Academy of Inspiration, Khayelitsha, Capetown, South Africa, July

 

On the Edge of Your Seat: Chairs for the 21^st Century, The Center for Art in Wood (Jurors: Nora Atkinson, Lloyd Herman Curator of Craft, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Jasper Brinton, Principal, Brinton Design; Benjamin Colman, Associate Curator of American Art, Detroit Institute of Arts; Susie J. Silbert, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass, Corning Museum of Glass), Philadelphia, PA May-July

 

The Painted Veil (Curator: Jorge Rojas), Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah, May-July

 

         Art & Resistance, Exhibition Gallery, Dar Al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, Bethlehem, Palestine, May

 

Soul Drift: Visualizations of a Cultural Phenomenon, Winter Festival Sarajevo, Museum of Natural History Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovena, February

 

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, Winter Festival Sarajevo, Museum of Natural History Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovena, February

 

Visualizing Peace

Evento Cultural Proyecto Comunidad, Barrio Macatoa, Granada, Colombia, November

Evento Cultural Proyecto Comunidad, Barrio Sabana, Granada, Colombia, November

Colegio Artistico Normal Superior, Acacias, Colombia, October

Evento Cultural Proyecto Comunidad, Barrio la Madrid, Villaviciencio, Colombia

Biblioteca Sede Barcelona, Universidad de los Llanos, Villaviciencio, Colombia

Winter Festival Sarajevo, Museum of Natural History Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovena, February

 

2015  

 

Biodiversity/Extinction (Curators: Elizabeth Corr, Natural Resources Defense Council; Dr. Paula J. Ehrlich, E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation), New York Hall of Science, New York City, New York, October-February 2016

 

Visualizing Peace, Galleriji Alu, Academy of Fine Arts, Sarajevo, Bosnia, November

 

Diaspora of Being, International Center of Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Palestine, August

 

Re: Visioning the West, University Art Gallery Banner Project, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, May-August

 

Collective Experience, Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah, March-April

 

Identity, Place and Memory (Arte Norteamericano: Identidad, Lugar y Memoria)

Bogota Arte Contemporaneo Gallery, Bogota, Colombia, March

15 locations in the Colombian Amazon Region, http://www.identidadencirculacion.com

 

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

Academy of Fine Arts, Sarjevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February

Galerija ALU, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February

 

PUBLIC ART

 

2010  Mezuzot Project, McGillis School, Salt Lake City, Utah

2001   Story Quilt, Lafayette Public Library, Lafayette, Colorado

1999   Peace Park, Lafayette Gardens Mobile Home Community, Lafayette, Colorado

Peace Park Entrance, Lafayette Gardens Mobile Home Community, Lafayette, Colorado

 

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

 

Corriente Alterna College of Fine Arts, Lima, Peru

E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, Durham, North Carolina

Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, Mexico City, Mexico

Governor’s Art Collection, Tlaxcala, Mexico

McGillis School, Salt Lake City, Utah

Mizel Museum, Denver, Colorado

Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas

Salt Lake County Art Collection, Salt Lake City, Utah

State of Utah Fine Art Collection, Utah

Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah

Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Ernesto Pujol with Beth Krensky), Salt Lake City, Utah

Private Collections throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East

 

MEDIA/BLOG COVERAGE (SELECTED)

 

Hoiland, A. M. (2020). “Utah Female Artists Explore the Sublime through Art”, Utah’s Explorere’s Guide: Creativity within Constraints, Utah Office of Tourism, < https://www.visitutah.com/articles/women-artists-and-the-utah-art-scene/>

 

Blonquist, M. (2020). “Beth Krensky: Learning to Fly”, 15 Bytes, (April 2020) http://artistsofutah.org/15Bytes/index.php/beth-krensky-learning-to-fly/

 

Karl, A. (2020). Top Ten Utah Works of Art From The Decade 2010-2020, January 2020, https://www.academia.edu/41698752/Top_Ten_Works_of_Utah_Art_from_the_Decade_2010-2020

 

Weist, E. (2019). “Kites, Handcarts Nightgowns: Beth Krensky,” Muse: The Journeys Issue, Utah Department of Heritage and Arts, Spring 2019, Volume 1, Issue 1, https://heritageandarts.utah.gov/muse-spring-19/

 

Pierce, S. and Means, S. (2019). “Meet Utah’s 15 most influential artists, chosen by more than 150 experts and fans,” Salt Lake Tribune, January 6, 2019, https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2019/01/06/utahs-most-influential/

 

James, M. (2018). Frontiering a Salted Earth, September 2018, Utah Artifacts & Art, http://utahartifactsandart.org/pt-portfolio/a-new-frontier/

 

Schachter, B. (2017). Between Heaven and Earth, Jewish Art Salon Blog, September 27, 2017, https://jewishartsalon.org/2017/09/27/__trashed/

 

Steinberg, J. (2017). “A ‘watershed’ moment for artists at the Jerusalem Biennale,” The Times of Israel, October 7, 2017, https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-watershed-moment-for-artists-at-the-jerusalem-biennale/

 

Hilborn, M. and Rutigliano, D. (2016). Landescape meets Beth Krensky, Landescape Art Review: Anniversary Edition, 8^th Edition, December 2016, Pp. 4-25, https://issuu.com/landescapeartpress/docs/landescape_art_review_-_special_iss/4

 

Hurtado, L. (2016). “Exhibition Review: Among the Shadows” Jorge Rojas’ Painted Veil at Rio Gallery,” 15 Bytes, (June 2016) http://artistsofutah.org/15bytes/16june/page4.html

 

 

Baker, B. (2016). “Not your dad’s La-Z-Boy: Center for Art in Wood sets the bar for 21^st century chairs in new exhibit,” Philly Voice, May 10, 2016, http://www.phillyvoice.com/new-exhibit-center-art-wood-elevates-standard-21st-century-chairs/

 

Poore, A. (2016). “Painted Sky: Book on artists from the Rocky Mountain West gives 14 Utahns lots of ink,”15 Bytes, (February 2016) http://artistsofutah.org/15bytes/16feb/page2.html

 

Cameron, M. (2016). Social Justice Reception, Marie Cameron Studio Blog, September 20, 2016, http://mariecameronstudio.com/tag/beth-krensky/

 

Platt, S. (2016). The Artnauts: A Global Collective of Artists for Peace, Art and Politics Now Blog, December 2016, http://www.artandpoliticsnow.com/2016/12/the-artnauts-a-global-collective-of-artists-for-peace/

 

Buntaine, J. (2015). “City Sights: Finding the science-art in New York area art exhibitions,” SciArt in America Magazine, November 11, 2015, http://www.sciartinamerica.com/blog/city-sights-salomon-contemporary-ronald-feldman-fine-arts-new-york-hall-of-science

 

“Featured Artist,” Studio Visit Magazine (Spring 2015), Volume 30.

 

Premack, E. (2012), “Beth Krensky: Art, Animals and Artnauts,” Chutzpah Magazine, (Fall) http://www.pageturnpro.com/Black-Dog-Media/43683-Chutzpah-Fall-2012/index.html#22

 

Bartlett, J. (2012), “A Modern Twist on the Evil Eye and Nazars,” Queens Chronicle, (May 3, 2012) http://www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/a-modern-twist-on-the-evil-eye-and-nazars/article_a37acde3-68d2-5538-9304-6bf26db882ea.html#.T6lHHcWlnsM.email

 

Pavlaki, D. (2012). “Tearing Down the Walls,” Athens News, (January 8, 2012), http://www.athensnews.gr/issue/13477/52100#