Endangered Species: theme 01: celebrating biodiversity’s beauty and complexity
September 8, 2018 - January 6, 2019
Lightcatcher Building
first theme
Celebrating biodiversity’s beauty and complexity:
from landscapes to microscopic imagery
Biodiversity (or biological diversity) refers to the variety of all living things. It includes the diversity of species, life’s genetic diversity, and the multiplicity of the planet’s ecosystems. Biodiversity can be measured by the number of species in a defined area or, more broadly, an entire earth.
Artists illuminate biodiversity’s stunning variety on its most grand and intimate scales. In imaginary landscapes, they portray the essential connection between flora and fauna within complex environments of infinite patterns and colors. Artists also isolate details of single plants or animals to capture the elegant structures that support a species’ survival. The artworks featured in this gallery represent the work of artists and natural scientists in the realm of biodiversity.
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- Tom Uttech, American, b. 1942; Nin Maminawendam, 2006; Oil on canvas, 73.25 x 78.75 in. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art, Gift of the Contemporary Art Society, 2009.5.1.
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- Fred Tomaselli American, b. 1956; Gravity in Four Directions (detail of), 2001; Leaves, pills, printed paper, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 72 x 72 in. Courtesy of Paul G. Allen Family Collection.
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- David Liittschwager, American, b. 1961; Costa Rica Collage, from “A World in One Cubic Foot,” 2012; Archival inkjet prints, 30 x 20 in. and 30 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist
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- Martin Johnson Heade, American, 1819-1904; Cattleya Orchid, Two Hummingbirds and a Beetle, ca. 1875-1890; Oil on canvas, 24 x 31.5 x 4 in. framed. Courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010.67.
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- Sanna Kannisto, Finnish, b. 1974; Private Collection, 2003; Digital C-print, 51 x 63 in. Courtesy of the artist.
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- Sanna Kannisto, Finnish, b. 1974; Flower Arrangement, 2010; Digital C-Print, 27.6 x 22.5 in. Courtesy of the artist.
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- Mark Dion, American, b. 1961; Scala Naturae, 2008; Offset color lithograph, 50.5 x 40 in. (51.25 x 40.5 in. framed). Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdur Gallery, New York.
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- Ernst Haeckel (German, 1834-1919); Reef-forming coral with six-fold symmetry, from the book, Art Forms in Nature (Hexacoralla, Kunstformen der Natur), 1904; Lithographic and halftone print. Courtesy of Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology, Kansas City, MO.
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- William P.C. Barton American, b. 1786-1856; Cornus Florida L. from Vegetable Materia Medica of the United States, vol. I, 1817-1818; Engraving, hand-colored by Esther Bartonl, 10 1/4 x 7 7/8 in. Courtesy of Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Kansas City, Missouri.
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- Macoto Murayama, Japanese, b. 1984; Commelina communis L. front view – ow, 2011; C-print 39.5 x 39.5 in. Courtesy of Frantic Gallery, Tokyo.
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- Carl Strüwe, German, 1898 – 1888; Diatoms Actinoptychus heliopelta, 1928, printed late 1950’s; Gelatin silver print 6.083 x 5.125 in. © 2017 by Carl Strüwe Archive, Prof. Dr. Gottfried Jäger, Bielefeld/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Germany. Courtesy of Steven Kasher Gallery, New York.
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- Roman Vishniac, American, b. Russia, 1897-1990; Cross section of a Pine Needle, early 1950’s – late 1970’s, printed 2017; Archival digital inkjet print, 10 x 14 in. ©Mara Vishniac Kohn, Courtesy of International Center of Photography, NY.
