Daemen University is hosting an extensive showcase that spans over 15 years of Kreutinger’s puppet building, video production, book writing, and paintings. An opening reception will take place in the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Gallery in the Nancy Haberman Gacioch Center for Visual and Performing Arts on Friday August 16. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will be on display through Friday, October 4, 2024.
Featuring 45 puppets, including original characters, designs for local stage productions, and various caricature puppets, the exhibit will showcase the art of puppetry’s depth and beauty as a sculptural art.
“We are proud to celebrate the work of Adam Kreutinger, a homegrown talent who has really guided the puppetry community into the 21st century,” said Dan Shanahan, chair of Daemen’s Visual & Performing Arts Department. “This exhibit visually captures the variety and vitality of puppetry while highlighting Adam’s unique style.”
Kreutinger is the teacher and puppeteer behind “Puppet Nerd,” a YouTube channel that broadcasts the artist’s passion for puppetry to 162,000 subscribers since 2010. His puppets have been featured on the Food Network, Comedy Central, Adam Savage’s Tested, and Disney on Broadway’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation.
Kreutinger was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2022, which has since affected both the subject and media of his creations. His most recent work is the result of a pivot to expressing his artistic voice through drawing, writing, and 3D printing, as increased seizures and mobility issues have limited the scope of tools he can safely operate.