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K-State Today

November 8, 2017

Artist talk by Sayaka Ganz

Submitted by Kelsey Longpine

Artist talk by Sayaka Ganz at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, in the UMB Theater, at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.

Ganz will give a talk regarding her current exhibition at the Beach Museum of Art, "Reclaimed Creations: Sayaka Ganz." A small reception will follow the talk with time to look at the exhibition.

Ganz's sculptures of birds, animals, and marine life incorporate discarded plastic objects that have become dangerous to wild creatures. Her works in this exhibition foreground the need to rethink human use and disposal of objects in a world driven by convenience.

"I try to give new life to discarded objects... I get my inspiration from nature and from the movement that we find in nature," Ganz said. 

She describes her reuse of the found materials as "3D impressionism." The recycled objects appear like brush strokes, separated at close proximity but visibly unified at a distance.

A resident of Indiana, Ganz grew up living in Japan, Brazil and Hong Kong. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Commissions include a series of four marine life sculptures at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. The tour of "Sayaka Ganz: Reclaimed Creations" is produced by David J. Wagner, curator and tour director, and David J. Wagner LLC. 

This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Caroline Peine Charitable Foundation/The Manhattan Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.