Kristina Libby's work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, NY Post, NY Magazine, NBC, ABC, FOX amongst many others. Notably, her public art series "The Floral Heart Project" was cited as the catalyst for the introduction of COVID-19 memorial legislation in both the US Congress and with the US Congress of Mayors. Her pieces have been featured at the Arizona Historical Society Museum, One Community Museum, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
She holds a B.A. from Dalhousie University and a M.A. from the University of Denver. She currently resides in NYC where she is also a writer and technology executive.
Libby has been selected for:
- SPRING/BREAK (2021)
- Remembering 9/11, Art Students League (2021)
- Mudhouse Residency, Greece (2021)
- Spreadlight Gallery, NYC
- Create Because We Care Exhibit
- Reine Gallery x World Women Foundation
Other accolades:
- Named a Hero of 2020
Statement
My work is focused on asking you, the viewer, to contemplate our world.
A decade and a half ago, I studied International Security for a Masters of Science at the University of Denver. I focused on the study of genocide and examining the worst of human behavior. Throughout my career, in technology and academia, I have continually returned back - not to the topic of our base natures - but to the result of what happens when our base instincts are left unchecked: human lives destroyed, societies fallen, nature eradicated.
My art is an effort to negotiate the "left over" space after violence and trauma. How do we rebuild when hit with violence; how do we restore when hit with loss; how do we renegotiate what it means to be human? Or, more succinctly, it is part of a long effort to ask a simple question: why are we human? And, what are we meant to become?
My public art has dealt with grief and loss. And, my fine art with what I worry is the permanent destruction of our landscapes. In both I find myself wondering if we will spend our time to improve our world or instead be apathetic to its destruction. I choose to believe in our possibility; and encourage you to risk believing that too.