Temporary Exhibitions

Ariel Bowman creates sculptures of prehistoric animals in the style of the guilded or golden age of craftmanship. This comes with a twist: although all of her kinetic sculptures – oftentimes in the form of a clock – function, all of the clock mechanisms run backwards in time.

“I make sculptures of prehistoric animals that represent the wonder to be found in natural history. I am intrigued by animals that evolved with distinct features, such as unfamiliar tusks, strange, elongated limbs, and unusual proportions. I use clay to bring these animals back to life, sculpting folds of flesh and filling their bellies with air. The goal of my work is to bridge the gap between art and science. Within my work I employ reflective nostalgia and imaginative realism to place extinct creatures in the context of human history.” – Ariel Bowman

See more about Ariel Bowman

About Ariel: Ariel Bowman was raised in Dallas, Texas where her parents are both artists. Growing up, she spent a lot of time outside with animals. The undeveloped woodlands that surrounded her childhood home inspired her to create art that focused on the natural world. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2011, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Florida in 2018. She has studied abroad at the International Ceramics Studio in Hungary and was awarded the Regina K. Brown NCECA undergraduate and graduate fellowships. Ariel has been an artist in residence at the Armory Art Center and her work has been collected by the Belger Arts Center, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. She is currently the ceramics studio manager for the Concho Clay Studio at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts.

An opening reception will be held for Ariel’s exhibition on Friday, June 17, 2022 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Opening receptions are free and open to the public. A cash bar and light refreshments will be available.

This exhibition is in tandem with two others on view at the same time: Leaving and Waving by Deanna Dikeman and the AKMA Found Object Exhibition. Entry into the museum gives visitors access to all of the exhibition spaces. Plan your visit here.

Deanna Dikeman’s series of photographs Leaving and Waving documents her experience saying goodbye to her parents over a 27-year time period.

About Deanna: Deanna Dikeman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, USA, and currently resides in Kansas City. She has photographed her midwestern family and surroundings since 1985, when she left a corporate job to try a photography class. She has M.S. and B.S. degrees from Purdue University. Since 1988, Deanna has had seventeen solo shows and has been included in over 150 group and two-person shows. 

See more about Deanna Dikeman

An opening reception will be held for Deanna’s exhibition on Friday, June 17, 2022 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Opening receptions are free and open to the public. A cash bar and light refreshments will be available.

This exhibition is in tandem with two others on view at the same time: The Golden Age featuring artwork by Ariel Bowman and the AKMA Found Object Exhibition. Entry into the museum gives visitors access to all of the exhibition spaces. Plan your visit here.

“Found art is created when odd, disparate, unlikely, even long-abandoned castoffs are put together with other similarly unexpected remnants to create something new and, if all goes as planned, lovely.”

Leeana Tankersley, Found Art: Discovering Beauty in Foreign Places

The AKMA has challenged regional artists to create something new from found objects. For the past six months, artists have been working on entries for this exhibition. Will they paint it? Photograph it? It is up to the artist on how they would like to answer this challenge. Let’s discover together what they have created.

An opening reception will be held for this exhibition on Friday, June 17, 2022 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Opening receptions are free and open to the public. A cash bar and light refreshments will be available. Artists and community members alike are invited to attend.

This exhibition is in tandem with two others on view at the same time: Leaving and Waving by Deanna Dikeman and The Golden Age by Ariel Bowman. Entry into the museum gives visitors access to all of the exhibition spaces. Plan your visit here.