An illustrated lecture by artist and doctor Mark Kessell
Date: Thursday, October 28th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Leopold (1822-1895) and Rudolf (1857-1939) Blaschka, a father and son team based in Dresden, Germany, spent decades creating thousands of extremely realistic and exquisitely beautiful glass flowers for Harvard University. The Blaschkas also created thousands of equally unforgettable models of marine invertebrates and other botanicals to fill the cabinets of burgeoning natural history museums the world over. The models they created-such as the one pictured above-are now appreciated as much as art objects, treasured for their fragile beauty and immaculate craftsmanship, as for their anatomical accuracy and didactic potential.

Like many modelers of their time, The Blaschkas were famously reclusive men who avoided publicity and took the secrets of their art to the grave. Step behind the “glass curtain” as Mark Kessell brings the Blaschkas to life with a look at their work and an intimate tour of their personal world.

Mark Kessell is an Australian medical doctor and professional artist working in New York City. Most of his work has a biological or scientific focus. He is represented by Kim Foster Gallery in Chelsea where his next exhibition, “Specimen Box” will open in March 2011. You can find out more about his work at www.studiocyberia.com.