Steve Snell wants adventure, or at least the image of one. He is inspired by the mythology and popular culture of American history and the Western landscape. Steve explores and critiques this heroic, constructed, and complicated narrative through paintings, videos, and local adventures. With experiences ranging from paddling a small cardboard replica of Lewis and Clark’s keelboat on the Missouri River to pushing an ungainly Conestoga wagon across the frozen prairie of Nebraska, Steve seeks connection with the present moment through a reinterpretation of past stories and legends.
Steve’s work has been shown in galleries and film festivals throughout the country. He has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Tallgrass National Preserve in Kansas, the Teton ArtLab in Wyoming, and along the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska and British Columbia, which was sponsored by the National Parks Service and Parks Canada. Steve is also an avid paddler, spending time each summer exploring local rivers and painting watercolors.
Steve earned his M.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011 as well as a B.F.A. in Painting and B.S. in Art Education from Miami University in 2006. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art in the Foundation Department at the Kansas City Art Institute.
