Contemporary Landscapes: From Observational to Symbolic Dates will be on display at the Mosesian Center for the Arts from Jan. 23 to March 6, 2026. See more info in the announcement from the MCA, below.
Landscape in art is a broad theme that spans from depictions of the natural world to urban and industrial landscapes to the landscape as a symbolic representation. Contemporary landscape artworks continue to evolve from the idealized depictions of nature to more personal interpretations of the outside world. Present-day artists working in the genre often engage with concepts such as the fear of the destruction of nature caused by continued industrialization and rapid climate change. The work in the exhibition focuses on the natural world as perceived by the artists from traditional to more interpretive and nonliteral approaches to the theme.
The artworks in the exhibition explore ideas of beauty, destruction, the ever-changing urban landscape, allegorical interpretations of nature and represent the landscape as the fluid and evolving world around us.
Jordan McGirk’ s Nothing. Nada. Nihilo – We Debated with the Devil in Our Eyesdepicts, according to the artist, “navel-gazers and cynics searching the sky for answers. At times, these onlookers are lulled into trance, transfixed by the sublime. They are lost in their finitude. And at other times, the sky replies with smug harbingers; clouds form specters, horsemen, and reapers who sit disquietly in the daylight. Like self-fulfilling pareidolia, clouds embody the guilt of a nice day while the climate disintegrates; while a virus plagues us, while we unmake the world. Fluctuating between sincere and sardonic, my calm raptures nod to art history, comic books, video games, blockbuster cinema, and metal band album covers. But unlike their historical references, my paintings insist that cataclysms do not come as cacophonies or storms; instead, they arrive as pleasant days with good weather.”
Eliza Brown has been collecting trash on her walks by the Charles River and noticed larger amounts of discarded scratch tickets near the holiday season. “I have also been more so noticing the number of disposable items we all use on a daily basis. Most cars I look in have “Little Tree” air fresheners, so I decided to create a winter landscape for local birds using these items. I feel for wildlife as it has to contend with ever-shrinking habitats, along with harsh winters and our copious amounts of waste.”
Jamie Gibbons also collects materials “that have their own prior life – reclaimed wood, unfinished cabinet doors, salvaged windows, and more – and continue their story in oil paint. The holes, cracks, and striations on the salvaged wood plank called for the glow of raw, unpainted woodgrain and the quiet of the forest in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in Crescent City, CA.”
Eric Grau writes that he likes to immerse himself “within the earth and surrounded by untraversable landscapes I can imagine my protection and escape from the politicization and demands of contemporary existence. Inside these landscapes I can discover magic that transcends my daily experiences and is a place where I become physically and mentally still.”
Contemporary Landscapes: From Observational to Symbolic is on display at the Mosesian Center for the Arts from January 23–March 6. The opening reception will be held on January 29, 5:30–7:30 PM.
The mission of The Mosesian Center for the Arts is to enrich the lives of diverse audiences and participants by providing exceptional experiences in theater, visual, and literary art.
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