Vanitas IV
No Longer Available
Medium
Resin, Oil, Acrylic, Bird Wings, Skulls, Wasp Nests
Dimensions
23" x 26" x 4"
Cost
SOLD
Description
I work between disciplines of science, ecopsychology, history, and social practice to understand how human beings interact with, respond to, and alter their natural environment. My work incorporates layers of meaning and speaks through carefully chosen symbolic imagery, materials, mediums, and locations. With a focus on the natural world and the catastrophic changes that are happening globally, part of my goal as an artist is to reframe one’s awareness. This can mean to remind the viewer of the natural world through a sense of investigation, awe, and wonder. It can also gently probe the knee-jerk response of consumerism, allowing the viewer to question what choices are made for them, and what different choices they can possibly make. My work often holds these two truths simultaneously because the monumentally abstract concepts, patterns, systems, and obstacles facing individuals and societies require this strong balance. My black resin pieces art part of my Vanitas series that spanned from 2016 to 2019. These works (Vanitas IV and Printemps) point back in time to the Dutch Still Life paintings by Rachel Ruysch and Otto Marseus Van Schrieck, whose works expertly portrayed the brevity and ephemerality of life. In a similar fashion, these works weave a visual narrative of life and death: vibrantly painted tulips, birds, and jellyfish intermix with the actual skeletons of squirrels and spiders. Yet the material that encases everything is a subversive twist on the romanticized idea of brevity and ephemerality. Using up to thirty carefully poured layers of resin, these works ask the viewer to confront the contemporary ubiquity of plastic. With all its slick sexiness and convenience, it has nevertheless undermined and damaged all ecosystems around the world. And, unlike the short lives of flowers and small animals, plastic is used for a few moments but lasts for a thousand years.
About this Artist
Regan Rosburg
Regan Rosburg is an interdisciplinary artist who weaves together science, psychology, history, and social engagement. With a passion for studying various ecosystems and biota, her work investigates not only the exquisite intelligence of ecology, but also the causes and ramifications of over-consumption. Her research on ecopsychology and art was published in the IGI International Journal of Civic Engagement and Social Change (2017). Regan firmly believes that artists are a crucial ally when dealing with pressing global issues. She has partnered with Human Rights Watch (Chicago, IL), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (with Weinberg Newton Gallery, Chicago, IL), and the Center for Local Prosperity (Pugwash, Nova Scotia). Regan’s work has been featured in BBC News (Culture), the New Art Examiner, CPR News, and Yale University’s Order of Multitudes. Regan is an Associate Professor at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, and the Artistic Director of Cayo Residency (Saõ Sebastiaõ,…
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