Reconstructions:
The Imprint of Nature/The Impact of Science

This exhibition will feature a selection of artists who use the traditional medium of painting to address the impact of science on art at the beginning of the twenty-first century. These artists draw inspiration from nature as represented by scientific models: natural history displays, scientific charts, digital images, and fractals, which reconstruct both the natural world and its scientific representation.

Art which is influenced by science is often narrowly preconceived as visually reductive and diagrammatic. In this exhibition, artists establish organic metaphors that involve chance, process, and evolution. Using a painterly approach, they reframe nature and the history of nature within specific cultural contexts.

The traditional medium of painting is used by these artists to conceptual advantage. Playfully and potently joining the categorization and documentation of nature, the artists employ art as a way to adapt to new sciences and technologies. Curated by Sandra Kraskin, the exhibition will include the following artists: Ross Bleckner, Dove Bradshaw, Jacci Den Hartog, Vernon Fisher, Walton Ford, Melissa Gwyn, Ellen Levy, Doug Martin, Donna Moylan, Fiona Rae, Alexis Rockman, Juan Usle, Darren Waterston, and Terry Winters.

© 1999 Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College