The Squirrel and Acorn Show

Everyone loves the squirrel. Or at least they should. What’s not to love, with those cunning, intelligent eyes, that baroque tail, and those laudable acrobatics high in the trees? Even colonial America loved the squirrel, often cherishing them as pets, feeding them nutty bonbons, and trapping them on dainty golden chains. Benjamin Franklin was so enamored with the squirrel, he gifted one to a young lad, and wrote him a poem of condolence after learning the squirrel (named Mungo) fell victim to the bite of a ruthless canine. And such it is with the magnificent acorn. What symmetry of form! What a symbol of potential and hope!

The 14th-century proverb, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow” sums it up. But within these two charged entities there is more. The peripatetic squirrel may symbolize the American middle class: perpetually industrious, constantly forced to think on its feet while straddling urban and natural sensibilities. In this context, the magnificent acorn can suggest our propensity to hoard our resources barring against that rainy day that arrives far too often. In this two-person show, Carson Fox and Jennifer Maloney give squirrels and acorns center stage in sculptures, drawings, printed wallpapers and photographs and include items from their personal collections of material culture.

There will be a public reception on Wednesday, November 29, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.