Orchid with Little Kingfisher

Meunier is continuously inspired by the natural world and his travels to such locales as Sri Lanka and the Amazon. Here a small kingfisher perches on a reimagined orchid, whose exaggerated filaments suggest the antennae of an insect. By reinforcing his clay with steel, the artist is able to balance the projecting elements of his work and create whimsical compositions that engage and inhabit the viewer’s space.  

Meunier received a BFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MFA from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. He is a professor emeritus at Swarthmore College, where he taught from 1979 to 2020 and served as chair of the Art department from 2001 to 2006. Meunier has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, in addition to several faculty grants from Swarthmore College. He is also the author of two children’s books: Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs (2003) and Bravo, Tavo! (2007).

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