By Jenny Zeller
2025 Artist in Residence, Max Sorenson, arrived at Bernheim in mid-September and quickly immersed himself in our ecosystem. During his residency, he volunteered with our Natural Areas and Horticulture teams on a variety of projects, including removing invasive plants and helping construct a beaver dam analog.
Max is no stranger to conservation and restoration practices, as his background bridges art and ecology. He previously served as a visiting artist at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, where he contributed an exhibition and an artist talk during Leopold Week, the foundation’s annual virtual speaker series. His past residencies also include the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Cedar Point Biological Station in Ogallala, Nebraska, and Tranquilo Bay Eco-Adventure Lodge in Bocas del Toro, Panamá.
In 2024, Max worked with the Institute for Applied Ecology as part of its native seed collection crew. He helped gather seed from locally adapted, disturbance-tolerant plants for use in arid land restoration projects. Before joining Bernheim, he spent time in La Crosse, Wisconsin, supporting a range of restoration and land management efforts throughout the Driftless region.
Max’s artwork ranges from intricate, nature-based drawings to sculptures and installations. Much of his work reflects his close study of conservation practices and invites viewers to consider what the idea of wildness means in historical, cultural, and ecological contexts.
During his time at Bernheim, Max was especially drawn to the biodiversity that thrives where different habitats meet. This idea of ecological edges inspired the ephemeral installations he created during his residency.
From the Artist:
“Ecologically, edges are places of change, diversity, and the unexpected… Since arriving at Bernheim, I’ve been really interested in thinking about this place as a sort of edge within the larger cultural and natural landscape of central Kentucky. To me, Bernheim seems to be a mosaic of both highly curated and distinctly wild landscapes… I think that Bernheim’s true value to the community lies in its unique combination of ‘what was once’ here and ‘what it is now’; namely, it builds a bridge to re-connection with our native forests, glades, and wetlands by inviting everyone—regardless of class, race, age, or creed—into relationship with the land.”
