Joel Kuennen (b. 1984) is an artist, critic, curator, and editor. They received an MA in Visual and Critical Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2010). Their art practice investigates human relationships to the earth as a means of understanding the social dynamics that can interrupt the extractive and exploitative ways in which we engage with the earth. They use autochthonous clay to create artifacts of intervention, small anthromes that become platforms for microecosystems. The clay forms and their celestial alignments urge a consideration of deep time — a complex matrix of past, present, and future.
Kuennen has been publishing criticism on emerging and established artists and theoreticians for 10 years. Their written work focuses on the intersection of technology, identity, and society. They were a contributing editor for Theorizing Visual Studies (Routledge, 2012) and served as Editor, Senior Editor, and Chief Operating Officer at ArtSlant (2012-2018). Their work has been published by Art in America, ArtSlant, Brooklyn Rail, Elephant, Frieze, Mutual Art, THE SEEN, Sternberg Press, and others. They were the inaugural Critic-in-Residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in April, 2019 and Artist-in-Residence at Creative Living Center in 2020.
Find Joel at: joelkuennen.com
