Pho​tograph by Jackson Newman
Max Sorenson is a conservationist and artist engaged with the work and material of ecological restoration. His work seeks to examine and expand what human stewardship of land might look like in an era of declining biodiversity and bioabundance. Mirroring the structure of terrestrial ecosystems, his work is rooted in the plant life foundational to our human and non-human communities. His drawings, installations, and explorations of natural material often borrow qualities of repetition, attention, and close-looking characteristic to many land management activities, including seed collection, plant identification, and timber cruising. This work includes drawings made by walking through areas recently exposed to prescribed fire and meticulous ink drawings done directly on the surfaces of leaves. Ultimately, he is interested in promoting a widespread and joyous re-connection to the entirety of our communities of life.
Max holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Biology from Grinnell College in rural Iowa. In 2023, he was a Visiting Artist at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, hosting workshops and celebrating the communality of ecological restoration. He has shown work throughout the Midwest and in New Mexico, and he has been a resident artist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Cedar Point Biological Station in Ogallala, Nebraska and at Tranquilo Bay Eco-Adventure Lodge in Bocas del Toro, Panamá. He is currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Max is currently an Emerging Artist Member at Strata Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.
Education
2022
Grinnell College, B.A., Studio Art and Biology
Grinnell, IA
Selected Exhibtions
Solo
2022
Leaves/Traces, Smith Gallery, Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA
Group
2024
Locally Sourced, Center for the Visual Arts
Wausau, WI
Taos Abstract Artist Collective Fall Exhibition, Stables Gallery, Taos Center for the Arts
Taos, NM
4th Annual Member Group Show, Strata Gallery
Santa Fe, NM
Rituals for Now, fourteenfifteen/ALPACA
Albuquerque, NM
Fun-A-Day, fourteenfifteen/ALPACA
Albuquerque, NM
2023
Nature's Kaleidoscope: Patterns of Fragility and Resilience, Playhouse Gallery, The Overture Center for the Arts
Madison, WI
2022
Local Artist Showcase, Portage Center for the Arts
Portage, WI
Bachelor of Arts eXhibition (BAX), Grinnell College Museum of Art (GCMOA), Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA
2021
Bachelor of Arts eXhibition (BAX), Grinnell College Museum of Art (GCMOA), Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA
Awards, Residencies, and Honors
2024
Emerging Artist, Strata Gallery
Santa Fe, NM
2023
Visiting Artist, The Aldo Leopold Foundation
Baraboo, WI
Residency, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cedar Point Biological Station
Ogallala, NE
2021
Residency, Tranquilo Bay Eco-Adventure Lodge
Bocas del Toro, Panamá
Talks, Workshops, and Classes
2024
Drawing a Land Ethic, Leopold Week 2024, The Aldo Leopold Foundation and The Overture Center for the Arts, artist talk
Madison, WI
Introduction to Foraged/Found Material Inkmaking, The Groove Artspace, workshop
Albuquerque, NM
2023
Barn Quilts, Leopold, and Our Rural Plant Communities, Great Midwest Crane Festival 2023, The Aldo Leopold Foundation and The International Crane Foundation, workshop
Baraboo, WI
Barn Quilts, Leopold’s Land Aesthetic, and Our Rural Plant Communities, Future Leaders Program, The Aldo Leopold Foundation, workshop
Baraboo, WI
Barn Quilts and Our Rural Plant Communities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cedar Point Biological Station, workshop
Ogallala, NE
Publications
2024
Strata Gallery 4th Annual Member Group Show Catalog, Strata Gallery,
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/6e8596929f.html (Pgs. 19-20)
Santa Fe, NM
The Mad Agriculture Journal Issue 11, Mad Agriculture
Boulder, CO
2023
Imagine Vol. 1, 2073, Wormfarm Institute, https://issuu.com/wormfarm/docs/2023_zine_final_forweb (Pg. 30)
Reedsburg, WI
2021
European Art and Architecture in Ink, Grinnell College Press
Grinnell, IA
Press
2024
Jonnah Perkins, “RxReturn: Inside the Artist’s Process”, The Mad Agriculture Journal,
Hope Horne, “Celebrating Aldo Leopold Week 2024: Embracing the Land Ethic”, Overture Center for the Arts, https://www.overture.org/blog/2024-february-aldo-leopold-week/
2023
Susan Bence, “Next generation carries on Aldo Leopold's principles of stewardship in Wisconsin," WUWM 89.7, https://www.wuwm.com/2023-04-19/next-generation-carries-on-aldo-leopolds-principles-of-stewardship-in-wisconsin
2022
Jane Hoffman, “Museum of Art opens 2022 Bachelor of Arts Exhibition,” The Scarlet & Black, https://thesandb.com/40966/article/museum-of-art-opens-2022-bachelor-of-arts-exhibition/
Lena Weib, ““Leaves/Traces puts down roots at Smith,” The Scarlet & Black,
https://thesandb.com/40611/article/leaves-traces-puts-down-roots-at-smith/
Permanent Collections
Grinnell College, Department of Biology
Grinnell College, Center for Prairie Studies