Ocean

We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about our planet’s oceans. And yet the ocean remains an alluring prospect to humanity: as an artistic icon, an object of scientific inquiry or even a financial resource. Encompassing art, film, literature, archeology and natural history, Ocean is a journey of discovery above and below the surface. Offering a cross section of art and cultural history, the exhibition and catalog are arranged into three themes: the ocean between art and science; the mythological ocean; and the Anthropocene ocean. From the woodblock prints of Utagawa Kuniyoshi to Jean Painlevé’s photographs of aquatic life and Susan Hiller’s mapping of sea coasts, Ocean offers a mosaic view of this infinite yet imperiled source of life.
Artists include: John Akomfrah, Anna Atkins, Jeanette Ehlers, Caspar David Friedrich, Susan Hiller, Pierre Huyghe, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Jean Painlevé, Howardena Pindell, August Strindberg, Wolfgang Tillmans, Francesca Woodman.