Alexis Rockman in Conversation on Art, Climate, and Technology
On the occasion of his solo exhibition of new watercolors The Toxic Sublime, Magenta Plains hosts Alexis Rockman in conversation with three scholars and artists all of whom operate at the intersection of art, technology, and climate. By utilizing Rockman’s new work as an entry point for the discussion, this conversation hopes to generate a dialogue about how each of these practitioners view the artist’s role in relation to the escalating climate crisis.
Saturday at 4:30pm
January 27, 2024
149 Canal Street, NYC 10002
As one of the first and longest-working artists in the space of climate and environmentalism in fine art, Alexis Rockman is uniquely positioned to speak to the ongoing relationship between the environmental movement and the art world, and its growth through the decades. His specific brand of dystopian ecologically oriented painting is a key contribution to the climate futurist imaginary,
Haley Mellin’s unique approach to activism has been instrumental in bringing the art world toward action in fighting the climate crisis; specifically, her emissions calculations for museum exhibitions have spurred global efforts toward increased sustainability in the museum field. Simultaneously, her tightly observed paintings in nature offer an aesthetic and thematic counterpoint to Rockman’s grand painted imaginings.
Alisa Petrosova offers a different perspective as a professional at the forefront of climate research. Specifically, her interest in storytelling and culture and how they intersect with the changing climate makes her uniquely suited to speak across the parallel disciplines of these three artists and scholars.
A scholar of art, digital culture, and ecology, Charlotte Kent’s line of inquiry dovetails neatly with the concerns of both Rockman and Mellin. As the conversation’s moderator, her intellectual focus on the effects of our capitalist system and the military-industrial complex on art and the environment offers an urgent perspective in conjunction with the practices of the above artists and scholars.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Haley Mellin
Haley Mellin, PhD is an artist focused on painting and land conservation. Her current paintings are slow-made, observational and unfold on-site at conservation locations. They are made from homemade gouache, a non-toxic, water-based paint. Following her fascination with the realm of nature, Mellin created the Art into Acres non-profit to support permanent large-scale land conservation on behalf of artists and the arts community.
In the arts sustainability space, Mellin co-founded Conserve, the MOCA Environmental Council, Art + Climate Action, Artists Commit, GCC LA and GCC New York, and initiates first carbon emissions calculations for U.S. and EU museums, currently kindly funded by the Teiger Foundation. Her upcoming shows include a group exhibition “Flesh of the Earth” at Hauser & Wirth New York in February 2024 and a solo exhibition “Biodiversity & Betadiversity” at Dittrich & Schlechtriem Berlin in April 2024.
Alisa Petrosova
Alisa Petrosova is an interdisciplinary artist, writer and narrative strategist. She specializes in the intersection of climate, culture, film & television and believes in the power of storytelling and community to transform our world and collective future for a more just, healthier and beautiful world. She works at Good Energy where she leads the climate research and consulting programs. She holds an MA in Climate & Society from the Climate School at Columbia University where she now teaches and a BFA in Fine Art from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
She speaks on the topic of climate and culture change on panels at institutions like Conde Nast, the Climate School at Columbia University, The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, and NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. Alisa lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, where she hosts Big Love Supper Club with her partner that brings climate storytelling to their dinner table.
Charlotte Kent
Charlotte Kent, PhD is Associate Professor of Visual Culture and Program Director of Visual and Critical Studies at Montclair State University. She is co-editor with Katherine Guinness of Contemporary Absurdities, Existential Crises, and Visual Art (2024, Intellect Books) and an Editor at Large for The Brooklyn Rail with a monthly column on Art & Technology, contributing to many arts magazines and academic journals about contemporary art and digital culture.
She is a recipient of Google’s Artist and Machine Intelligence grant for 2024 and was the inaugural Scholar-in-Residence at NXT Museum in 2023. She is a graduate of the CUNY Graduate Center, St. John’s College, Phillips Academy Andover, and the Writer’s Institute.
