Making Life Visible, an exhibition of work by 16 contemporary artists and scientists, with additional historical material from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, explores the processes of visualization and description in art and biology. Historically, biologists and artists had similar training in observation and drawing. Though the fields have diverged, individual practitioners on both sides continue to draw inspiration from one another, finding new ideas in the process of creating images. The exhibition asks: what do artists and biologists see, and how do their ways of seeing challenge and stimulate one another? Subjects addressed in the exhibition range from molecules and cells, to organisms and ecosystems, and the artists/scientists included work in labs, studios, museums, and academic institutions.
Curated by Dr. Lesley Wright, Director, and Dr. Jonathan “Jackie” Brown, Professor of Biology.
February 2 – June 10, 2018
Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa