Kalli Bednarz is an artist and visual archaeologist based in Indianapolis, with a BFA in Visual Arts from Ball State University. She works on the ground, creating a kind of dig site by outlining its parameters with charcoal. In a way, she mimics the physical act of excavation at the beginning of the art-making process, and from there intuitively begins to “dig up” memory through figurative gestures and ancient imagery. This work is an exploration of herself as an archaeologist in her own way as an artist. She investigates the parallels between artists and archaeologists: both uncover traces, handle them with care, and carry a sensitivity to preserve. Her research takes her to ancient sites, connects her with archaeologists, and has sparked an interest in local groups focused on care and preservation in Indianapolis, such as the Community Advisory Group. Her paintings echo these gestures of archaeological discovery, excavation, and preservation. Surfacing and dissolving, fragmenting and honoring, they invite reflection on how excavation and preservation, whether artistic or archaeological, can be an act of deeply felt care of the ancient past and of the local present.
