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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.

Curriculum Vitae

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, 

https://madagriculture.org/journal/rx-return

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 & Blackhttps://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

Contact

  • Instagram

@maxcsorenson

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