DOYLESTOWN, PA – The Michener Art Museum is pleased to present the work of contemporary artists from Bucks County and the greater Philadelphia area, whose art serves as a platform to investigate the effects of global warming, climate change, pollution, and related environmental concerns on bodies of water and aquatic species. Rising Tides: Contemporary Art and the Ecology of Water, opening SATURDAY, April 4, 2020, will include painting, works on paper, sculpture and installation. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day–established April 22, 1970 to educate the public about environmental issues impacting our planet–this exhibition illustrates the power of art to visualize ecology and global change through the eyes of seven local artists.
Emily Brown’s delicate renderings of water elicit emotion and consideration for the element that nurtures all life on Earth. While water permeates our world, we rarely study its subtleties. Brown’s large drawings allow close observation of its surface, composed of simple gray and white lines that swirl in alluring, abstracted arrangements. She has replicated this imagery on painted glass cylinders, which will also be included in the exhibition.
Diane Burko operates at the intersection of art, science, and environmental activism. To begin her work, Burko first travels to regions of critical concern to collaborate with scientists who are learning and spreading awareness about Earth’s deteriorating conditions. Featured in Rising Tides are mixed media paintings and inkjet prints, whose aerials views of glacial melt emphasize the scale and real-time effects of Earth’s warming climate.
For Janet Filomeno’s most recent series of paintings, As the Sea Rises—Blue Crystals Revisited, she streaks brilliant blue paint across each canvas, creating dynamic, abstracted compositions that visualize troubled waters highlighted by red boxes and lines. Filomeno created the original Blue Crystals series following the devastation of 9/11. In linking this new series to the previous one, Filomeno conveys her profound concern for our current turbulent political climate and the rapid acceleration of climate change.
Marguerita Hagan’s ceramic sculpture focuses attention to the remarkable diversity of creatures that comprise aquatic ecosystems, from microorganisms to larger organisms, like coral. In representing the most infinitesimal of life forms, Hagan stresses the interconnectedness of life on Earth, particularly aquatic life and its susceptibility to pollution and ocean acidification. Hagan’s sculptures, thus, allude to the monumental change human practices are imposing upon ocean ecosystems.
Pat Martin will exhibit two works of art that address the deteriorating conditions of oceanic ecosystems due to pollution. One work, Floating Reef, offers an unsettling depiction of discarded, tangled fishing nets that ominously float on the water’s surface, just above the sea life.
Stacy Levy will install two levels of Plexiglass shelves circling the walls of the Michener Art Museum Media Room that map the Pennsylvania coastline of the Delaware River from Stockton to Trenton. The lower shelf will hold glass vials filled with water collected from various points along the river. If the Delaware floods during the exhibition, Levy will add vials of water to the higher shelf mapping the riverbanks at deluge level. The installation will link visitors in real time to the fluctuating conditions of the Delaware River, as well as the larger weather patterns that affect them.
The jagged, white surfaces of porcelain sculptures by Paula Winokur (1936-2018) evoke glacial ice. Winokur regarded porcelain as a contradictory material, as it is simultaneously strong enough to withstand searing temperatures when fired, but afterward becomes fragile and will shatter if disturbed. Porcelain is also sourced directly from the Earth, and its use in her work prompts consideration of the materials and processes that comprise our planet, as well as the glaciers, ice cores and globes her sculpture represents
In addition to a variety of complementing lectures and programming, the Michener will host Kids Save the World: An Earth Day Celebration, SATURDAY, April 18 from 10 AM-2 PM. Families are welcome to enjoy a day of art, exploration and eco-empowerment with a full schedule of fun family tours and activities with local environmental groups. A special presentation of the musical “Curious” will be performed by acclaimed Philadelphia “kindie” music group Ants on a Log at 11 AM. While registration is required, most of the programs are sponsored by the Leff Family Foundation and are FREE to attendees. Visit MichenerArtMuseum.org for more details.
Rising Tides: Contemporary Art and The Ecology of Water is generously supported by Visit Bucks County. Unplugged Families @ the Michener are presented by the Leff Family Foundation.
The Michener Art Museum collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits American art, and promotes the work of nationally and internationally known Delaware Valley artists of all eras and creative disciplines. The museum presents exhibitions that explore a variety of artistic expressions and offers diverse educational programs that develop a lifelong involvement in the arts. Throughout the year, the Michener Art Museum hosts a wide range of programs open to the public, including lectures, artist conversations, gallery talks, artist studio tours, dance performances, jazz and other musical performances, family-themed activities, and other events. The museum also offers a diverse selection of art classes for children and adults, which include instruction in drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking as well as programs for the public, schools, and teachers designed to support arts and STEAM education.
The Michener Art Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The Museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 am–4:30 pm; Saturday 10:00 am–5:00 pm and Sunday noon–5:00 pm and is located at 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, PA. For more information, visit MichenerArtMuseum.org or call 215.340.9800.
