Press release

The Baldwin Gallery is pleased to present new oil paintings on paper by acclaimed contemporary artist Alexis Rockman. His “Big Weather” series explores the powerful, destructive effects of natural phenomena on the built environment, and provides a link between the fields of fine art and modern science. A fully illustrated catalogue containing essays by Robert Rosenblum and Bill McKibben accompanies the exhibition.

Using luminous, saturated colors, Rockman’s new paintings vividly portray the devastation of potential natural disasters provoked by global climate change. Dramatic scenes of a forest fire’s glowing embers, wind-tossed palm trees, threatening storm clouds and crackling lightning bolts, shantytowns hit by hurricanes, snow avalanches crashing into ski lifts, rampaging floods and dust storms dwarf the traces of human civilization.

Rockman transforms scientific subjects into imaginative and relevant images with his inventive painting techniques. In the wake of recent natural disasters, people are realizing the connection between such forces of nature and current environmental challenges. The artist engages with critical issues facing our world today, often infusing his compositions with elements of fantasy, parody and irony.

A native of New York, Rockman attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the School of Visual Arts in New York. His paintings have been exhibited in numerous cities worldwide, including London, Los Angeles, Rome, New York, Salzburg, Cologne, Boston and Tokyo.

Also showing at the Baldwin Gallery will be Doug and Mike Starn’s latest visual exploration, entitled “alleverythingthatisyou”. Identical twins who work collaboratively, the Starns are internationally recognized for their imaginative photographs that study fundamental aspects of life through the experience of light and perception. Blending the disciplines of art and science, the artists present a series of color photographs featuring magnificent snow imagery in various stages of formation and decomposition.

Gleaming like jewels, the endlessly fascinating snowflake structures reveal their similarities and individual differences as they tumble out of the sky. These intricate frozen patterns serve as metaphors for personal and collective memories about snow and ultimately life itself. The magical beauty and ephemeral qualities of snow conjure up ideas ranging from a child’s excitement about a day off from school, to the purity of a winter landscape, to concerns about global warming. A video projection featuring hundreds of falling snowflakes filmed by the Starns will comprise part of the exhibition.

Accompanying the show is an exhibition catalogue documenting the creation of this new series, including the development of the special microscope camera, with an emphasis on process and discovery. An original poem by Vincent Katz provides a lyrical context for the Starn images.