The mixed media works in this exhibition, which informed Suzanne Stryk’s recently published book by the same title, are visual interpretations of the vast ecology found in Appalachia and her home-state of Virginia. As she traveled and found inspiration for this series her mantra became, “There’s no such thing as the middle of nowhere. Everywhere is the middle of somewhere for some living being.” Stryk is an artist who finds equal fascination in the natural world and the visual arts. Her conceptual paintings and assemblages have appeared in solo exhibitions throughout the United States, and her portfolios and related writings have been featured in Terrain.org, Orion, Ecotone, and the Kenyon Review. She is the recipient of a George Sugarman Foundation grant and a Virginia Commission for the Arts fellowship for the project “Notes on the State of Virginia,” the precursor to The Middle of Somewhere.

The University of Virginia made purchase of the entire series from The Middle of Somewhere, funded by the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.