Featured
Nature, interrupted : 'Vivarium' confronts consumerism and environmental neglect
Published
Modified
A vivarium is an enclosure, a mini-ecosystem captured in a glass
box for protection and observation.
It鈥檚 also Latin for 鈥減lace of life.鈥�
Open at the Albuquerque Museum, 鈥淰ivarium: Exploring Intersections of Art, Storytelling, and the Resilience of the Living World鈥� corrals multiple works by seven artists observing a delicate balance of nature through multiple visual and cultural lenses.
Nature, interrupted : 'Vivarium' confronts consumerism and environmental neglect
鈥淎ll of these works are all about telling a story, all intersecting with art history and centering in an interconnectedness with animals,鈥� said curator Josie Lopez.
The exhibition invites viewers into a variety of environments, from depictions of a trash-strewn sea to charred trees and surrealism.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e creating their own version of the living world,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also storytellers. They鈥檙e all creating animals within the storytelling in their paintings.鈥�
Puerto Rican artist Nathan Budoff鈥檚 鈥淓l Abrazo鈥� co-mingles a manatee with a bee and fish in front of a mountainous and strip mall-crowded landscape. Budoff places the animal world at center stage as protagonists, reflecting the past and present realities of climate change and colonization in his homeland.
鈥淗e鈥檚 always defying gravity,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 up, what鈥檚 down; what鈥檚 sky and what鈥檚 sea. They鈥檙e the individual moments when you see the animals take center stage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very unexpected that you would see a manatee and a bee in the same space,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 conflating sky and sea and land and how they are all interconnected.鈥�
In 鈥淒etritus,鈥� Julie Buffalohead (Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma) painted a mound of American flag-packed trash imprinted with words like 鈥淚ndian Land for Sale.鈥� Coyotes and rabbits cavort across its peak.
Houston artist Patrick McGrath Mu帽铆z鈥檚 鈥淭erram Ignoramus鈥� nods to Delacroix with his packed boat carrying the Grim Reaper, a child and a Neanderthal over a trash-strewn sea. A polar bear, a pelican and a mastodon swim and wade in the water.
McGrath Mu帽铆z鈥檚 paintings confront the viewer with the impact of consumerism and environmental neglect.
鈥淭he animals around the boat are going to be the survivors,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 asking us to imagine what will be there if we don鈥檛 take care of the Earth. The question is, where will we find hope?鈥�
Eloy Torrez鈥檚 鈥淢eat鈥� constructs a world blending surrealism (Salvador Dal铆鈥檚 clock) as a woman cages herself in an upside down chair while a dinosaur bares his teeth menacingly.
鈥淭he chair creates this ironic protection from the dinosaur,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淪o who鈥檚 in a cage? You can imagine a dream like this.鈥�
Steven J. Yazzie (Din茅 and Laguna) painted 鈥淓nd of the Blue Sky鈥� as apocalyptic commentary. A coyote stands on a chair while the forest outside the window burns.
鈥淔or the Navajo/Din茅, Coyote is a character of transgressive power, a revered cultural being whose actions are often seen as a reflection of our own human reality,鈥� Yazzie wrote in an artist鈥檚 statement.
The animals are taking over human space.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definite push and pull between the comfort of the chair and the death happening with the fires and the background,鈥� Lopez said.
The show is the first of three exhibitions; the next are planned for June 2025 and June 2026.
鈥淰ivarium鈥� not only showcases the artists鈥� work, but serves as a catalyst for dialogue and action in the face of ecological and societal challenges.
