The Gallery: Rachel Denny

Red Doe. Cotton wool yarn, zipper, polyurethane foam, wood, 14 x 22"

Introducing Rachel Denny and her "Domestic Trophies". Normally anything that smacks of taxidermy would make me squirm, but these, (not actual animals) all swathed and snuggled in cashmere and cables, made me smile and wish I had one in my home. What do you all think? (Check out the bunny and the slide show below the jump).

"Clover" 2008. Angora, polyurethane foam, thread, steel.

Denny hails from Portland, Oregon and she uses all sorts of surprising materials to re-interpret our beloved natural world. She also makes lovely paintings on wood panels and other found-object sculptures.

> > More Rachel Denny: Slide Show

Her deer trophies sell for $450-500 for the smaller does to $600-700 for the larger bucks and have been going like hotcakes. She reports that she is working away to create more such domestic trophies. The bunnies are the size of large domestic bunny and are $500 ppd (she is working on a fluffy red and lime green pair now.)

You can find Denny’s work at the Vitamin Design shop and The Beholder, or most reliably at her own website.

Please contact the artist directly via email.

Know any artists whose work would make a home a lovelier place? Send ideas to The Gallery. Thanks!

Comments (8)

I want to like them...but nope! They creep me out! It's like an animal is trapped inside.

posted by Doogle on September 11th 2008 at 12:13pm
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I agree with Doogle!
Is there some deep meaning that I perhaps am overlooking?

posted by poptart on September 11th 2008 at 12:33pm
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It seems a little fragile to be creeped out by a knitted bunny rabbit.

posted by lindyleech on September 11th 2008 at 12:50pm
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not sure about the bunny, maybe its just not slipper enough looking... but the deer head is sort of cute. and it doesnt scream "dead deer" to me at all.

posted by serrakat on September 11th 2008 at 12:52pm
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I love the bunny! You'd have to be a knitter to know, but that's some serious shaping skill.

posted by superbeetle on September 11th 2008 at 2:03pm
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Super creepy - they remind me of mummies.

posted by Tar and Violets on September 11th 2008 at 7:10pm
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Love them - as someone who has a picture of that classic Japanese wave print but with the foam of the wave being made up of bunnies tumbling into the water, I appreciate this sense of humor.

Beautiful, tactile, funny work.

posted by Nesser on September 11th 2008 at 8:00pm
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they are beautiful but for some strange reason I feel like they need nostrils---

posted by bcthree on April 29th 2009 at 2:30pm
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