“I titled this body of work “Hothouse” before I even began painting it. My husband and I were staying at a ranch in Wyoming in the dead of winter and explored the property one dusky eve. While careening across the sultry tones of the snow-covered plains, a neon glow suddenly erupted in the distance, bathing the gentle curves of the surrounding topography in a shock of electric pink. It came from a greenhouse.

The image stuck in my mind. Like a rave on the moon it felt distinctly out of place. And also, so very human. The greenhouse was a perfect totem for the behavior that sets our species apart: an uncanny ability to alter our environment. Dually, it was a fitting analogy for climate change in that the world inside this hot little house was made unnaturally warm by the direct actions of its caretakers. The manufactured conditions rendered food in the snow, graciously, but the glowworm structure also interrupted the inky night to an almost violent degree. There was much to probe in what the greenhouse stirred up in me that evening. So I painted, attempting to answer the question ‘what does life in our metaphorical hothouse look like?’

“Hothouse” investigates our complex relationships with heat and its impacts on the natural world as a metaphor for climate change. Painted on panel and canvas, each piece employs landscape and sometimes figures to examine a different facet of this topic. Like the greenhouse, short-term beauty and utility often accompany introduced heat. But there are warnings to be heeded, activists to be raised, revolutions to be born. Rooted in mostly real places, this work was created as a meager attempt to spark whatever can be sparked in the hearts of viewers who love life on Earth and care to see it go on.”

How to purchase:

Paintings can be purchased directly through the gallery through the gallery’s website or in person. You can also contact the gallery at art@spacegallery.org or (303) 993-3321.