Chelsea Art Museum

In " Nature Interrupted," twelve artists show very diverse aspects of their concern about the environment in painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video. They may focus on a rare species in danger of extinction, such as the eagle or a flock of migrating birds in Osmo Rauhala's captivating video images, or the preservation of trees threatened by decease, as in Joan Backes's paintings of tree bark, which could, in the future, become a points of reference to a species no longer in existence. Another metaphor is Katie Holten's artificial tree made of refuse such as recycled cardboard, wire, newspaper, and black tape. The emblem of a tree in distress is a perfect symbol for the environmental crisis we are experiencing.
This exhibit is particularly important now, when the urgent and imperative message to restore health to the environment must be conveyed in every possible form of media and communication, and more so in art, for it is one of the most powerful languages humans have ever created.