Kristina Sheufelt
Adjunct Faculty/Lecturer
BFA, College for Creative Studies; MFA, University of Michigan
Kristina Sheufelt’s interdisciplinary studio practice utilizes object and image-making, ephemeral installation, and experiments in human-nature collaboration to investigate the underlying psychology of human ecological behaviors. Informing this investigation is a long-standing commitment to engaging in formal scientific research across a variety of topics within the biological and environmental sciences. Sheufelt’s work often deals with themes of permanence and impermanence, exploring parallels in love and loss across human and ecological relationships. She utilizes her own body and experiences as a visual and symbolic reference point for human/nature relationships at large, reflecting on the need for both individual and collective ecological intimacy in the face of today’s myriad environmental crises.
Research interests include ecology and environmental psychology, particularly the impact of cultural biases and norms on human ecological behaviors; Biological systems, particularly in regard to phytoremediation, soil regeneration, insect and wildlife conservation; Ecologically regenerative urban design, as well as sociopolitical predictors of environmental health and access; Creative engineering and kinetic systems, especially interactive objects and installation, and performance as a tool for ecological conservation and remediation.
Professional Experience
Kristina Sheufelt received a BFA in Studio Art and Craft from CCS (2013) and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Arts with secondary studies in Ecology, Environment and Sustainability, and Behavioral Psychology from the University of Michigan (2022) Her work and creative research has been exhibited and presented throughout the United States. Her graduate thesis exhibition, an installation of kinetic landscapes driven by physiological data collected during interactions with undeveloped land, won awards both locally and internationally. After completing her MFA, Kristina worked on a marine debris removal and wildlife monitoring project on a remote island in the Alaska National Maritime Wildlife Refuge before returning to teach a pre-college sculpture course at the University of Michigan. In the year prior to joining CCS as an adjunct instructor in 2023, she presented two solo exhibitions and attended multiple residencies, including a research-based residency at the Cedar Point Biological Station in Nebraska, where she began research into pigment extraction and printmaking with several species of freshwater algae.
Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions
Awards and Honors
2022 International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture award
2022 Jean Paul Slusser Best in Show award
2021 Center for the Education of Women Grace A. and James D. Bruce Scholar
2020 Smucker-Wagstaff Grant
Residencies
2023 Sculpture Space, Utica NY (awarded)
2023 Prairie Ronde Residency, MI
2023 Cedar Point Biological Station Residency, NE
2020 La Wayaka Current Residency, Chile (awarded)
2020 Sachaqa Centro de Arte Residency, Peru (awarded)
2018 Padre Island Ntl Seashore Residency, TX
Publication
2023 Emergency Index Vol. 10:
2022 Sculpture Magazine: ISC Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture
2022 Hyperallergic feature: Stamps School of Art & Design MFA program experience
2021 Space On Space Magazine: On Sculpture, Performance, and the Changing Earth
Presentations
2023 The Ecological Arts lecture and botanical printmaking workshop, University of Nebraska Lincoln
2022 Material Pairings: Looking Beyond Dichotomy panel discussion, ICCCIA Berlin, Germany
2022 Art, Ecology, and Conservation, Kalamazoo Nature Center, MI
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Redirected : The Mill at Vicksburg, MI
2022 Here Nor There : Residential College Gallery, University of Michigan
2022 Going, Going, Gone : Glen Vista Gallery, Kalamazoo Nature Center
2018 AIR Exhibition : Padre Island Ntl. Seashore, TX
2015 Hybridize : Corktown Studios, Detroit
