exhibition – Amy M. Youngs

Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art

hypernatural — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:10:01 +0000

Feb. 7- April 28, 2026

SP/N Gallery, University of Texas at Dallas

Biology is more than genes, pharmaceuticals, and natural selection. Before any of these, biology is historical, modeled by where, when, and how it is written, bearing the legible marks of a cultural moment like rings on a tree or plaque on a tooth. Every quality of biology is thus situated in time and circumstance. Genes function properly inside of cells; drugs are profit engines for pharmaceutical companies; and natural selection is one circle of selective activity among others operating within earth’s atmosphere. So, life is almost always coupled to other life. It is symbiotic. Symbiogenesis is the leading theory of evolution, which is based on symbiotic cooperation between microbes occurring millions of years ago, as mitochondria and chloroplasts, organelles essential to the metabolism of animal and plant cells, bear the DNA of once free-ranging microbes.

Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art is an exhibition of art about biology understood from the perspective of context, collaboration, and coupling. It focuses on biological symbiosis in the artwork of Amy Youngs and Ken Rinaldo, setting in relief the significant role non-scientists play in writing biology. Exhibition artworks include two-dimensional works and time-based media that involve sound, touch, smell, immersion, amplification, and magnification.

–Charissa N. Terranova, Curator of Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art and Margaret M. McDermott Distinguished Chair in Art and Aesthetic Studies at the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, University of Texas at Dallas

Opening at moCa Cleveland

hypernatural — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:20:32 +0000

“Belonging to Soil” is opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland this Friday , J a n u a r y 3 0 ! This is my collaborative virtual reality art installation – with Shadrick Addy, JT Thrash, Mayen McClain, Luke Stephens, Josh Rodenberg, Will Yuan, Andrew Sanchez, and Megan Wright, and live springtails!

This group show brings together artists across Ohio who focus on sustainability, agriculture, food justice, and natural ecologies. Through diverse materials and perspectives, these artists reflect on humanity’s relationship with the environment. Some incorporate found elements like waterway pollutants, plant-based dyes, and grass clippings, while others investigate topics ranging from climate change conspiracies to natural history and arthropods. Many draw directly from personal experiences as farmers, grocery workers, or environmental observers. Spanning painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation, and community-based practice, the works in this exhibition highlight the urgency of environmental issues while inviting dialogue and response.

Curated by Theresa Bembnister, DJ Hellerman, Megan Lykins Reich, and Christina Vassallo. Co-organized by the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH and Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Cleveland, OH.

It really is a great exhibition, with artworks by: Catherine Clements, Avery Mags Duff, Myles Dunigan, Tina Gutierrez, Brian Harnetty, Desert Kitchen Collective: Glenna Jennings, Jalisa Robinson & Friends, Keith Lemley, Celeste Malvar-Stewart, Lori Nix & Kathleen Gerber, Elena Osterwalder, Praxis Fiber Workshop, John Sabraw, Charmaine Spencer, and Supermrin.

Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati

hypernatural — Fri, 09 May 2025 19:29:06 +0000

I love this Zaha Hadid building and am happy for this opportunity to exhibit artwork in it. My collaborative project, Belonging to Soil, is part of the Ohio Now: State of Nature exhibition, running from May 5 – September 7, 2025.

Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati

Belonging to Soil VR Installation

opening reception

5-foot diameter root sculpture

Live viewing of magnified springtails

Springtail “subterrarium”

me helping visitor with VR

Curators dialogue at the opening

Teamwork!

This show brings together artists across Ohio who focus on sustainability, agriculture, food justice, and natural ecologies. Through diverse materials and perspectives, these artists reflect on humanity’s relationship with the environment. Some incorporate found elements like waterway pollutants, plant-based dyes, and grass clippings, while others investigate topics ranging from climate change conspiracies to natural history and arthropods. Many draw directly from personal experiences as farmers, grocery workers, or environmental observers. Spanning painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation, and community-based practice, the works in this exhibition highlight the urgency of environmental issues while inviting dialogue and response.

The other artists in this exhibition: Catherine Clements (Bowling Green), Avery Mags Duff (Akron), Myles Dunigan (Oberlin), Tina Gutierrez (Cincinnati), Brian Harnetty (Columbus), Desert Kitchen Collective: Glenna Jennings, Jalisa Robinson & Friends (Dayton), Keith Lemley (Ravenna), Celeste Malvar-Stewart (Columbus), Lori Nix & Kathleen Gerber (Cleveland), Elena Osterwalder (Columbus), Praxis Fiber Workshop (Cleveland), John Sabraw (Athens), Charmaine Spencer (Cleveland), and Supermrin (Cincinnati).

Go check it out! https://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/experience/exhibitions/2025/05/ohio-now-state-of-nature

Microwave New Media Festival

hypernatural — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 03:28:21 +0000

Belonging to Soil was one of 7 artworks invited into the main exhibition of the Microwave New Media Festival in Hong Kong. The theme this year is Non-Human Intelligence. Curator, Joel Kwong, writes, “With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), we try to shift the focus back to the “non-human” to identify the missing piece. In the field of “non-human intelligence”—which includes animals, insects, plants, and computer systems—humans still play a role, but one that needs to interact and cooperate, and even create something with other species. Will this direction help us go beyond anthropocentric frameworks of understanding?”

Photos by Wong Pak Hang.

The exhibition team installed the work beautifully; including the virtual reality experience zone next to the live springtail terrariums with magnifiers and a video microscope viewing area. The exhibition is at Hong Kong City Hall, November 4 – November 12, 2023. I will also present a talk titled, Eco Intelligence, in the festival’s conference, Humans, Animals, Plants, Machines and Artificial Intelligence, on Nov 9, 2023.

Belonging to Soil is a collaborative virtual reality artwork created with Shadrick Addy, Mayen McClain, Luke Stephens, JT Thrash, Andrew Sanchez, Josh Rodenberg, Megan Wright, and William Yuan.

ImageOhio 2021

hypernatural — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 23:57:32 +0000

My work Vegetal Entangling is included in ROY G BIV Gallery’s ImageOhio, a juried exhibition of the best lens-based art as determined by jurors Amanda Le Klein and Cristyn Steward.

It is a physical exhibition, which is ironic since my work is a website. It is exhibited on an iPad, (thanks for the loan ASCTech) alongside a QR code so visitors can go directly to the page on their own devices if they don’t fancy touching an iPad during a pandemic. The intimate scrolling nature of this work lends itself to smaller devices.

Visit Vegetal Entangling online.

The exhibition includes many friends and new artists whose work I really enjoyed getting to know:

Photography: Carmelo Amenta, Josh Arnold, W E Arnold, Emma Brown, Zoe Casdin, John Fadley, Isaac Harris, Kayla Suzanne Holdgreve, Lance Kriesch, Kent Krugh, Minnie Lucas, Fredrik Marsh, Greg Martin, Kenechukwu Memeh, Sophia Moffa, Ardine Nelson, Thomas Osorio, Holly Romano, Ankia Steppe, David Stichweh, Yvette Tang

New Media: Amy Youngs, CG Ryan, Eric Meiring, ¡Katie B Funk!, Jessica Feldman, Trevor Mahovsky / Rhonda Weppler, BNSL Studio, Chaz O’Neil

Video: Kellie Bornhoft, Jacklyn Brickman, Eric Homan, Jonathan Johnson, Alejandra Solano, Shayla Wigand

Fort Hayes Shot Tower Gallery (546 Jack Gibbs Blvd., Columbus, OH, 43215) Gallery visitation is by appointment only and can be arranged with Teresa Weidenbusch, Gallery Director by email at tweidenbusch6679@columbus.k12.oh.us Dates: February 19 – March 26, 2021.

Movement 4 Black Lives

hypernatural — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 18:54:39 +0000

Black Lives Matter. I’m looking for ways to support this important movement as a human, and also as an artist. Among other things, I’m glad to be participating in this fundraiser show organized by the New Media Caucus, where 100% of proceeds go to the Movement 4 Black Lives organization. The exhibition, Defund + Defend, includes gifs, digital images, movies, and digital wallpapers and screensavers – all the things that can be distributed digitally and hung on your screens. No shipping, no fuss, and all for a great cause.

Each artifact is only $30 and each one is a limited edition of 5. So get it while you can. I donated an image and bought 2. Many great new media artists have donated to this, check it out: https://www.defunddefend.newmediacaucus.org/

Engineering Utopia

hypernatural — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 02:40:42 +0000

The Museum for Insects has been renovated! it houses a brand new exhibition and is streaming 24/7 with telepresence cricket vibrator sculpture and songs. For the full experience, you’ll want to visit the physical museum in Columbus, Ohio at the Urban Arts Space (May 30, 2017 – July 15, 2017). It lives with great company in an art & technology exhibition curated by Kris Paulsen: “Engineering Utopia is premised on the idea that utopias are places or situations consciously built and conceived – engineered – for perfection, but also bound to remain hypothetical, unrealized, and imaginary. This exhibition examines interactions between artists and engineers from the late 1960s to the present, and how the context of art allowed them to dream greatly and ‘fail’ wildly.” This exhibition features artworks by Bell Labs, John Cage, Charles Csuri, Experiments in Art and Technology, Lutz Dammbeck, Isla Hansen, Ken Rinaldo, Lillian Schwartz, Stan VanDerBeek, and Amy Youngs, and OSU student research into the restoration of works by Chris Burden and Ken Goldberg.

Engineering Mini Utopia, is the miniature version of the show, which features work by many of the artists in the larger show – Ken Goldberg, Isla Hansen, Ken Rinaldo, Lillian Schwartz, and Stan VanDerBeek. Works by additional artists – TradeMark Gunderson, Tucker Marder and Jim Wilson – were invited into the exhibition to address the cricket audience and to further experiment with the utopian ideals of communication, appreciation, and aesthetic pleasure across species.

See the new documentary video.
More info on this new exhibition on the Museum for Insects website.
See more images of the Museum for Insects project.

Food by Design

hypernatural — Sun, 14 May 2017 02:38:17 +0000

The Museum of Design in Atlanta, Georgia is currently showing my work, The Machine for Living Interdependently. The exhibition Food by Design: Sustaining the Future showcases the creative redesigning of food systems. An array of designers, scientists, policy makers, engineers, farmers, grocers, innovators, and foodies are meeting this challenge by designing, prototyping and testing ways to farm more efficiently, to increase food security, to minimize food transport, to decrease food waste and to provide us with information to make better decisions about what we buy and what we eat.

It includes living architecture, (Mitchell Joachim, David Benjamin) revolutionary food concepts (Ugly Food, Fallen Fruit, Victory Gardens of Tomorrow, Concrete Jungle) future foods (3D Printed foods, Cricket Bitters, Soylent, Memphis Meats), and food waste systems (Compost Wheels, Bionicraft Biovessel, and me). See more photos on Flickr.

Exhibition runs January 25 – May 21, 2017.

http://www.museumofdesign.org/