Ruth Marshall, Ocelot Series. Photo by Maja Kihlstedt.

At the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park:

Ruth Marshall

Closely Knit: A Textile Analysis of Animals

May 1 – June 20, 2014

Opening Reception
Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

The Arsenal Gallery, Central Park
830 Fifth Avenue at 64th Street, third floor
Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closed holidays
Free admission

Ruth Marshall brings attention to illegal wildlife trade and species loss with her life-size, knitted textile pelts of tigers, leopards, coral snakes and Australian marsupials. Her work exemplifies how artisan goods have the potential to have higher commercial value than poached skins on the black market. Marshall conducted research at the American Museum of Natural History, Melbourne Museum and the Berlin Zoo. For Closely Knit, Marshall studied Askai, Central Park Zoo’s male snow leopard and created a new knitted work measuring 91” based on his distinctive coat.  The exhibition is staged in the historic Arsenal building, which housed a menagerie of donated animals on the basement level from 1859 to 1871. The Arsenal was also the first home of the American Museum of Natural History from 1869 to 1877 before it moved to its current home on Manhattan’s West Side.