Meet the Reno native using art to bring awareness to waste

Kyle Karrasch creates amazing, one-of-a-kind sculptures from discarded materials and uses his art to bring awareness to the problems brought on by our culture of disposability. He describes his work in his Artist Statement below:  

“To be alive means to consume, and we only stop consuming once we cease to exist. What impact does our consumption have on the world? We buy many things and the vast majority of those things have a fleeting use. Goods are designed to be obsolete so that we will continue to buy more. Buy, use, toss, and repeat. It is a never-ending, wasteful, cyclical process.

The artifacts of our consumption are what interest me, and concern me, the most. An object’s intended use is often ephemeral, but the materials these products are made of endure. These lasting materials are what motivates my art practice.

The process of my work begins by collecting. It then transitions into transforming the materials beyond recognition. The collected waste is treated with care and attention with each piece deconstructed by hand. Once dismantled, I compose the material into three-dimensional forms intended to provide commentary and raise dialogue around the current state of consumerism and its consequences on the natural world.

I like to describe my art practice like that of a taxidermist naturalist. I collect discarded inorganic specimens and benevolently craft them into beautiful objects for display. Through process, labor, and form I re-purpose dead materials. My artwork is intended to serve as a reminder of our waste. A reminder to think about the life of something you toss away and consider the ramifications of where it will ultimately end up. We as humans will never stop consuming, but we can be mindful of our actions. My hope is that the future monuments of humanity will not be the mountains of garbage we leave behind.” - K.L. Karrasch

Kyle Karrasch was born in Reno and developed artistic abilities at a young age. After graduating high school Kyle left for the Academy of Art in San Francisco with hopes of becoming a professional illustrator. Not long into the academy, he discovered his passion for sculpture. Kyle left the Academy of Fine Arts in pursuit of a higher understanding of art theory. He enrolled in the Fine Arts program at the University of Nevada, Reno graduating in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts and a minor in art history. Kyle is currently working on his Master of Fine Art at the University of Reno Nevada and resides in his hometown where he creates sculptural works that intend to provoke commentary on consumption and environmental conservation.