Artist’s Focus Expands from Glaciers to Coral Reefs
In September, 2017, we reported that renowned climate artist Diane Burko was expanding the exploratory focus of her widely acclaimed paintings and photography. After a decade chronicling the dramatic decline of glaciers, she had decided to highlight how climate change impacts coral reefs.
Burko traveled to Hawaii, American Samoa, and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to learn from marine biologists and witness coral reefs first-hand. She studied how these critical marine ecosystems, which buffer our coastlines from waves, storms, and floods, are increasingly stressed by warming ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, and acidifying oceans.
Now Burko is debuting the results of her exploration in a landmark solo exhibition, Endangered: From Glaciers to Reefs, at the National Academy of Sciences. The exhibit features glacial paintings alongside her newer coral reef artwork.
Diane Burko, Faga’alu (2018) Acrylic on canvas. Dimensions: 60″ x 60.” ©Burko, 2018. Courtesy of the National Academy of Sciences.
To create this rich new body of work, Burko poured acrylic paint onto a flat canvas, letting it spill, pool, and flow to allow the material to relate more to the painting’s content. She then used an air compressor to spread and thin the paint in areas, alluding to varying ocean depths. She incorporated details from ocean charts to reference the science that inspires her work. The exhibition also features eight prints and a video of her experiences.
Burko’s career has spanned nearly 50 years at the intersection of art, science, and the environment, seeking to raise awareness about climate change. She conveys a clear vision: “I don’t want to frighten people away. I want to celebrate these places and ecosystems and then, through the celebration and through reminding people about ecological signs and warnings, communicate that there’s an underlying issue: we have to protect nature and we’re the ones who are directly involved in destroying it.”
Diane Burko, Beaufort (2016) Oil and mixed media on canvas. Dimensions: 42″ x 42.” ©Burko, 2016. Courtesy of the National Academy of Sciences.
Endangered: From Glaciers to Reefs will be on exhibit through Jan. 31, 2019 at the National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. The galleries are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. A photo ID is required and there is no charge. For more information, visit www.cpnas.org or watch a short video about the show.
The exhibition is part of the National Academy of Sciences’ cultural programming exploring relationships among the arts and sciences. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that recognizes achievement in science by election to membership. Together with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences provides science, technology, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
