The Trees Will Love You and the Earth Will Hold You—A Solo Exhibition by Artist Beth Krensky
Material presents The Trees Will Love You and the Earth Will Hold You, a solo exhibition by artist Beth Krensky
Material Gallery is pleased to present The Trees Will Love You and the Earth Will Hold You, a solo exhibition by renowned artist, activist, and educator Beth Krensky, opening Friday, August 22, 2025. The exhibition offers a journey through memory, wonder, and ritual—inviting viewers into a world where the personal becomes collective, and the ephemeral becomes sacred.
This multimedia exhibition features selections from several ongoing series. In Wish, Krensky presents wands made from detritus gathered along beaches, mountain paths, city streets, and studio corners. These objects are intended for personal or communal rituals that restore and reanimate life.
In Keys to Open the Beginning Before the End, Krensky combines antique skeleton keys with organic fragments—smoothed by earth, water, wind, and time—through electroplating. These poetic relics ask: "If you had a key that could open anything, what would you unlock?”
Material will also debut video and ephemera from Pilgrimage to the Very Center, part of Krensky's Dispatch from Solitude performance series. In this meditative work, the artist investigates spaces where spirit and matter connect. This work documents the artist walking a labyrinth on the ancestral lands of the Tutuni people in Port Orford, Oregon.
In her artist statement, Krensky writes:
"I am a gatherer of things—objects, words, spirit—and a connector of fragments to make us whole and help us heal. The Trees Will Love You and the Earth Will Hold You is both a call and an echo of memory, time, what has been lost, and what has been found. These pieces have been forged from detritus found on the edge of oceans, mountainsides, city streets, backyards, and forgotten corners. These remnants have been alchemized into ritual objects through reverence, love, and perhaps a little magic. The work is a clarion call to unlock the beginning before the end. For time, life, and love are not linear, but circular.”
Also featured in the exhibition is Store of Wishes, a collection and emporium of enchanted objects Krensky has created or gathered over decades and across continents. Echoing the historical tradition of Cabinets of Curiosity, where artists collect and exhibit objects that mimic museum displays, Store of Wishes merges wonder with intention—offering both a space to hold wishes and a marketplace to acquire them. The work draws on the legacy of artists such as Joseph Cornell, Mark Dion, and Fiona Hall.
These interconnected bodies of work exemplify Krensky's practice, which is deeply rooted in the socio-historical memory of place. In her view, the relationship between artist and public is inextricable—opening space for transformation on both individual and societal levels.
Throughout the exhibition, Material will host two workshops led by Krensky, providing visitors with a free opportunity to make their own Wish Wand and Portable Reliquary.
Material co-founder Colour Maisch shares:
"We are honored to present this exhibition of Beth Krensky's work. Beth is a highly respected artist and educator whose remarkable career spans national and international stages. As one of Utah's most influential artists, her practice encompasses multimedia, performance, and tactile forms—each rooted in love, intention, and a desire to heal and empower. This exhibition offers a rare and expansive glimpse into her creative universe by pairing her evocative performance video and ritual talismans with an extraordinary collection of objects. We're excited for audiences to experience her practice's breadth and reflect on the deeper purpose of making, gathering, and giving meaning to art.”
Events
Material will host an opening reception for Beth Krensky on Friday, August 22, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., preceded by an artist talk from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m.
The exhibition will also be open for viewing on:
Friday, September 19, 6:00–8:00 p.m., as part of Salt Lake City's Gallery Stroll
Friday, September 26, 6:00–8:00 p.m., during the closing reception
By appointment
In addition, Material will offer two workshops led by Krensky, giving visitors a unique opportunity to engage directly with the artist and explore the ideas behind her work:
Make a Wish Wand – Saturday, August 30, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Portable Reliquary – Saturday, September 13, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Participants are encouraged to arrive between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. to view the exhibition and shop at the Store of Wishes before each workshop. Workshops are free but space is limited. RSVP is required.
About the Artist
Beth Krensky is a Utah-based artist who traverses the borderlands between spirit and matter. She is a Distinguished Professor of Art Teaching at the University of Utah and received her formal art training from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
She is also a scholar of community-based art education. She holds an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music recently mounted a 20-year retrospective of Krensky's art, and she was one of five performance art finalists for the 16th Arte Laguna Prize. Her work has been exhibited or performed in numerous international biennials, including the Jerusalem Biennial, the Larnaca Biennale, and currently is traveling across Australia for 20 months as part of the International Textile Biennial.
About Material
Built on the collective vision of artists Jorge Rojas and Colour Maisch, Material is a multifaceted art space housing a commercial gallery, artist studios, classes and community events. Material exhibits local, national, and international artists through community-centered events and collaborations.
