Kendall Art Gallery is pleased to present a new sculpture installation, Temple of the Beekeeper by artist and author Nancy Blair. The captivating multi-sensory installation explores themes of female identity, belonging, myth, and Nature. Blair reimagines the narrative of the older woman as a powerful, healing force within the natural world. This is Her Temple, an archeological site of time past, present and future. Just as the bee tends to the hive, so too the Wise Woman Beekeeper tends to the soul, nurturing growth, and facilitating deep awareness of life on a Living Planet. In this sacred space, images of the Crone—often dismissed by society—are a source of wisdom and knowledge. Overarching themes in this series of works, mostly created since the pandemic, relate to cycles of life, ecstasy, love, power, environmental responsibility, disappointment, trauma and triumph.
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The installation features intricate and highly textured ceramic sculptures earthy, crusted, radiant and sparkling. Apothecary vessel-like forms, mystical figures, and glass ancestral guardians, reinvigorate art historical norms to suggest a woman-empowered world of magic and wonder; an escape into a luminous alchemy of cosmic visionary consciousness.
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Playing in the background is a video of bees hovering in the hive, their movements set to an ethereal soundscape of buzzing—echoing the rhythmic chanting of temple rituals. According to ancient belief and confirmed by recent research, the frequency of bees buzzing carries healing vibrational resonance; sound as a form of meditation and contemplation inspiring a sense of fantasy and otherworldliness. Viewers are invited to think less and imagine more.
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Vibrant, colorful photographs of flowers symbolize the altar of the bee’s desire and reflect Blair’s deep commitment to eco-conscious living and veganism. Blair emphasizes the critical role bees play in sustaining life and how this sentient, indicator creature parallels the strength and resilience of women throughout herstory. Bees represent life, community, and cooperation. Without bees, all life on Earth would perish.
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Temple of the Beekeeper is more than a collection of artworks; it is a sanctuary for the soul, a place of pilgrimage where visitors can immerse themselves in the timeless wisdom of Nature and emerge transformed, renewed, and inspired.
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Nancy Blair (b. 1952; lives and works in NJ and FL) holds an MFA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and a BFA from Alfred University. She was an instructor at Pilchuck Glass School for several years. Her works are in the collection of Sir Elton John, The Tacoma Museum of Glass, Douglass Library at Rutgers University and numerous private collections. She is the author of five books on myth, feminist spirituality and Goddess culture as well as a memoir published by HarperPublishers, Thank You, Your Opinion Means Nothing To Me.​