Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman with Dr. Julie Reiss

Artist Mark Dion’s work examines the way dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understandings of history, knowledge, and the natural world. The job of the artist, he says, is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention. Appropriating archaeological, field ecology and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Dion creates works that question the distinctions between ‘objective’ (‘rational’) scientific methods and ‘subjective’ (‘irrational’) influences. Dions holds a BFA and an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford School of Art, Connecticut. He is a cofounder and co-director of Mildred’s Lane. He was born in New Bedford, MA in 1961.

Alexis Rockman is a painter of landscapes and ecological concerns. His work has been shown widely, Notable solo museum exhibitions include the touring exhibition Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle at Grand Rapids Art Museum (2018) and Alexis Rockman: Manifest Destiny at the Brooklyn Museum (2004).

Julie Reiss is an independent art historian and critic with a focus on contemporary art that addresses the climate crisis and the role artists play in social change. She is the editor of Art, Theory and Practice in the Anthropocene. She is also the author of From Margin to Center: The Spaces of Installation Art. Julie teaches courses on Art and Sustainability at Columbia University where she is also a Visiting Critic to the MFA department. She is Consulting Editor to the Harpo Foundation, working on an anthology of essays about its founder, artist and arts advocate Ed Levine.