Tanya Kukucka’s work reflects the continued destruction of the Earth’s environment by humans. For Kukucka, art may provide a brief respite from the alarming circumstances of a 21st century world, but it also has a duty to remind the viewer of the peril. As Mexican poet Cesar A. Cruz wrote, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted.” Kukucka studied woodcut printing with Antonio Frasconi, who created a series of woodcut prints titled Los Desaparecidos, which depicted the victims of Uruguay’s military regime from 1973 to 1985. Similarly, the woodcuts in this exhibition express the anguish of our ongoing environmental crisis.

About the artist: Tanya Kukuckastudied woodcut printing with Uruguayan American artist Antonio Frasconi at SUNY Purchase, where she earned a BFA. She resides in Dutchess County, N.Y., and has shown paintings, sculpture, and ceramic work in regional art gallery exhibitions, including at the Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2023 she participated in an artist residency in Puerto Rico with Inspiration Art Group International. Her work frequently deals with environmental issues, mythology, and metaphysical subjects.