- As the Ackland Art Museum's curator of exhibitions from 1996-2009, I was also an adjunct associate professor of art h... moreAs the Ackland Art Museum's curator of exhibitions from 1996-2009, I was also an adjunct associate professor of art history at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While I was curator of art at the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington, from 2009-2018. I organized 18 exhibitions, including the international traveling exhibition Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012, and Endangered Species: Artists on the Front Line of Biodiversity.
While curator at the Queens Museum of Art in New York City from 1985-1992, I organized an exhibition and authored the catalog, Fragile Ecologies: Contemporary Artists' Interpretations and Solutions (1992). Funded by The Rockefeller Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts, this exhibition traveled to eight museums around the country under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service (SITES).
Interested in exploring the intersection of nature and culture, my passion for both art and the environment has informed a number of other exhibitions and publications, including: In and Around the Garden: Perspectives East and West (2008); Family Legacies: The Art of Betye, Lezley, and Alison Saar (2005) funded by the National Endowment for the Arts; Five Artists-Five Faiths: Spirituality in Contemporary Art (2004) supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; Buddhist Art and Ritual from Nepal and Tibet (2001) funded by the Museum Loan Network, MIT; From the Molecular to the Galactic: The Art of Max Ernst and Alfonso Ossorio (2000); The Spirit of Place: Art, Environment, Community (1998); Seeking the Spiritual: The Paintings of Marsden Hartley (1998); Circles of Divinity: Cross Cultural Connections (1997).
In 1993, I collaborated with the artist Jyoti Duwadi to create an ecological art installation, Myth of the Nagas and the Kathmandu Valley Watershed. It was funded by the Asian Development Bank and exhibited in Kathmandu, Nepal.
I received my PhD in Nineteenth Century and Modern Art from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Under the direction of Robert Rosenblum, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on: Sublime Landscape Painting in Nineteenth Century France: Alpine and Arctic Iconography and Its Relationship to Natural History.edit
This exhibition catalog features 80 works in all media that span three centuries by 60 artists from around the world who convey the wonder and fragility of life on earth. It highlights the collaborative relationship between artists and... more
This exhibition catalog features 80 works in all media that span three centuries by 60 artists from around the world who convey the wonder and fragility of life on earth. It highlights the collaborative relationship between artists and natural scientists and how this partnership makes a vital contribution to the legacy of nature conservation. Through the artworks, readers can visualize the human actions that threaten biodiversity via E.O. Wilson's acronym HIPPO- habitat loss, invasive species, population growth, pollution, and overharvesting (all exacerbated by climate change). The book also provides an uplifting and inspiring component by featuring pioneering artists who revitalize habitats and reconnect people to the natural world.
Research Interests: Art History, Environmental Education, Conservation, Contemporary Art, Marine Ecology, and 14 moreBiology, Energy and Environment, Biodiversity, Environmental Sustainability, Natural Science, Wildlife Conservation, Visual Arts, Climate Change and Biodiversity, Biodiversity Conservation, Tropical forest, History of Conservation and Restoration, Biodiversity Hotspots, Ecoart; Environmentalism, Environmentalist Art, and ecoART
Unhinged:Book Art on the Cutting Edge surveys recent directions in book art through the work of 60 prominent artists from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and across the United States. It explores the limitless potential of the book as... more
Unhinged:Book Art on the Cutting Edge surveys recent directions in book art through the work of 60 prominent artists from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and across the United States. It explores the limitless potential of the book as an independent medium, including both intimately scaled pieces and large installations. Book artists present lyrical odes to beauty as well as messages about identity, social justice issues, and environmental concerns. After perusing this publication, viewers will never "read" a book in the same way again.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Vanishing Ice introduces the rich artistic legacy of the planet's frozen frontiers now threatened by a changing climate. Tracing the impact of glaciers, icebergs, and fields of ice on artists' imaginations, this interdisciplinary survey... more
Vanishing Ice introduces the rich artistic legacy of the planet's frozen frontiers now threatened by a changing climate. Tracing the impact of glaciers, icebergs, and fields of ice on artists' imaginations, this interdisciplinary survey explores the connections between generations of artists who adopt different styles, media, and approaches to interpret alpine and polar landscapes.
Beginning in the eighteenth century, collaborations between the arts and sciences contributed to a deeper understanding of snowcapped mountains, the Arctic, and Antarctica. A resurgence of interest in these environments as dramatic indicators of climate change galvanizes contemporary expeditions to the glaciers and the poles. Today, artists, writers, and scientists awaken the world to both the beauty and increasing vulnerability of ice.
BARBARA C. MATILSKY is curator of art at the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington. She is the author of numerous books, including Fragile Ecologies: Contemporary Artists' Interpretations and Solutions.
Beginning in the eighteenth century, collaborations between the arts and sciences contributed to a deeper understanding of snowcapped mountains, the Arctic, and Antarctica. A resurgence of interest in these environments as dramatic indicators of climate change galvanizes contemporary expeditions to the glaciers and the poles. Today, artists, writers, and scientists awaken the world to both the beauty and increasing vulnerability of ice.
BARBARA C. MATILSKY is curator of art at the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington. She is the author of numerous books, including Fragile Ecologies: Contemporary Artists' Interpretations and Solutions.