Mari Richards

Mari completed her M.F.A. from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2006 and a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.M. in Piano Performance at St. Olaf College in 1997. Based in Minneapolis, her artwork has been shown locally, regionally, and nationally, with recent shows at the Larson Art Gallery and Macrostie Art Center. She has taught Intro to 2D and 3D design, 3D Foundations, Modern Art History, and Beginning Drawing classes at the College of Visual Arts, the Walker Art Center, MCAD, Globe University, and the Minnesota School of Business. By day, she has been successfully designing toys with Manhattan Toy since 1998, designing over 300 products for an international market, and winning over 30 industry awards.

Artists’ statement

Our culture is hell-bent on consuming everything around us. In every area of life – from food, to information, to our choice of identity and beyond – we create a concept of self by asking our bodies and minds to incorporate and assimilate our surroundings. This habitual filling assumes that individual bodies can take it all in, and continue in the same oblivious state as they began. But, what is our personalized bodily response to this excess and overfilling? How do we cope – subconsciously and corporeally – with too much input, and no end in sight?