Wall sculpture with plant-like appearance

Gaia, Part 2

Resa Blatman

Resa Blatman identifies her work as a visual commentary on climate change and environmental issues. Her artistic process is filled with intention; she creates heavily layered paintings and installations, combining paint, assemblage pieces, and intricately laser-cut forms that both connect and fragment the artwork. This complexity is meant to reveal nature’s vast beauty, but also its delicate state when subject to the hands of modern humanity. As Blatman notes, her work seeks to remind us of the “precarious nature of our habitat” and “speaks to the vulnerability of the earth that we so easily take for granted.” Inspired by decorative Victorian, Baroque, and romantic art, Blatman transforms traditional decorative objects into beautifully rendered micro-environments that are at once haunting and lovely. Ominous, dark clouds are a typical backdrop in her works, looming behind an array of painted and sculptural flora that wildly outgrow the frame in which they were once confined. Perhaps Blatman is modeling humanity’s tendency to tame and mold nature, and nature’s struggle to resist those efforts. Each of Blatman’s sublime works is a living entity, gripping to the gallery walls and stretching toward the floor, actively trying to break from their mold and take root. Blatman’s art is a glimpse into the great force of nature and its dynamic vitality. It breathes and lives, destroys and dies, and once again blooms and regenerates. There is a poetic beauty in nature’s self destruction and rebirth, but that beauty can be lost when humanity interrupts this cycle and pushes nature beyond the point of recovery.

Explore the Gallery

inkblot in the form of insect with wolf profiles in negative space

image of mountain with reflection in lake

Gaia, Part 1

Blatman on her process: “The cut-edge paintings are made on 1/4 – 1/8 inch panels and/or Mylar sheeting. I design the patterns on the computer and then have the panels and sheets professionally laser-cut. Back in the studio, I layer the pieces on top of one another, sometimes cutting them up and making smaller sections, to create one whole painting. When the surface format is complete, I begin the painting process. The cut edges, layered surfaces, and shadows expand the subject matter of the paintings and help to conceive a beauty that is both chaotic and dystopian.” Learn more about Resa Blatman’s inspiration and creative process in thisvideo.

painting with black drips and plastic plants

Trouble in Paradise 3

Trouble in Paradise 2

Resa Blatman helps us visualize the effects of climate change through her laser-cut organic forms and fractured compositions. Climate scientists are also constructing a picture of a changing climate system through a variety of studies. Learn about this developing picture in this climate report from NASA. Climate change skeptics, on the other hand, are actively seeking to confuse the public about climate change and to question the scientific consensus. Emboldened by anti-science government officials and funded by corporations and individuals who have a financial interest in preserving the status quo, these skeptics offer an array of arguments to refute the scientific consensus. Consider those arguments and the detailed rebuttals in this blog post.

painting with clouds, plant forms and laser cut elements

Tempest

In the artist’s words: “Lush and representational depictions of nature is an ongoing focus in my work. My current paintings and installations speak specifically to a warming planet/environmental issues, their effect on our landscape and natural resources, and how we perceive the changes in the environment. To reflect this concept directly, the paintings’ subjects and surfaces are heavily layered and sometimes the surfaces are split apart, with laser-cut forms that mimic tree branches, coral, and flora. This creates a physicality and metaphorical sound like the poetic violence of an iceberg cracking. As we become even more aware of the precarious nature of our habitat, this work speaks to the vulnerability of the earth that we so easily take for granted.”

Featured Actions

Resa Blatman’s work portrays the vulnerability and resilience of nature and expresses concern for the effects of climate change. If you are inspired by her work, you can take action in your own life. Select one or more pledges listed below and spread the word. You can also learn more by visiting our Pledge Center. Let’s #EndOvershoot and save our #OneEarth.