Austin Cullen and Sarah Jentsch: A Natural History (Built to be Seen)

July 25, 2025 - October
Opening Party: Friday, July 25th, 6pm-9pm
ON VIEW: Tuesdays-Thursdays, 3pm-6pm
Fridays, 12pm-7pm
Saturdays, 11am-4pm

A Natural History (Built to be Seen) catalogs the various ways the western natural world is presented and reconstructed within museums. Documenting the life cycle of natural exhibitions, from inception to storage, both literally and metaphorically depicts how institutions shape nature. Dramatic dioramas, interactive virtual experiences, and miniaturized landscapes all act as windows into the natural world. While this framing acts as a guide for reading and understanding nature, the same frame can be analyzed to understand the complex and ever-changing relationship between people and land.

Museums teach us about our environment, but often separate us from it. In an age of global climate crisis, Austin Cullen and Sarah Jentsch believe it’s imperative to re-evaluate our understanding of and relationship with nature. By creating images that emphasize the human qualities of natural display, Cullen & Jentsch are asking the viewer to recognize how influential museum nature is on their understanding of the larger natural world

FLATS programming is sponsored by Fresh Arts and is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance