Kirsten Stolle

From the 1950s -1980s Bayer, Monsanto, and Dow Chemical promoted their chemicals through magazine advertisements. Using collage and cuttings, I have redacted the original text, altering the intended messaging and reframing the visuals to reveal the threat posed by toxic chemicals. The final reconstructed ads critique our nation’s history of overusing harmful agricultural chemicals and the U.S. Government’s weak regulations on corporate agribusiness. – Kirsten Stolle

Kirsten Stolle is a visual artist working in collage, text-based images, and installation. Her research-based practice, at the intersection of art, science, and culture, examines the global influence of agrichemical companies on our food system. Stolle’s recent projects have investigated agribusiness disinformation and the historical ties between Bayer-Monsanto and chemical warfare. Her work is included in the collections of the North Carolina Museum of Art, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, San Jose Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Solo exhibitions include NOME Projects, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winthrop University, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, and Tracey Morgan Gallery. Stolle’s work has been published in The Atlantic, Photograph, Topic Magazine, Poetry, Le Monde diplomatique, and LEONARDO.

She is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, as well as grants from the North Carolina Arts Commission, San Francisco Arts Commission, and the Puffin Foundation. She has been awarded residencies at Ucross Foundation, Millay Arts, Blue Mountain Center, Marble House Project, Willapa Bay AiR, Oregon College of Arts & Crafts, Anderson Center, and Ballinglen Arts Foundation.

Kirsten Stolle, Science For a Better Life Series, Monsanto Whopping Nation, 2022, Collage on 1956 Monsanto magazine advertisement, 13.75 x 20 in., Courtesy of the artist