Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
August 30 - December 7, 2025
Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Galleries, Level 1; Ned A. Brokloff Gallery and Jason D. Kogan Gallery, Level 2
The first two-person survey exhibition of these renowned artists, Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld explores their shared allegiances and sustaining friendship over three decades. The exhibition will unite some twenty-five sculptures and paintings by both artists along with related works on paper and a major new collaborative piece, offering an absorbing journey into the depths of the threatened natural world. Beginning with a section evoking the fieldwork of pioneering naturalists and explorers, visitors will encounter a field-station tableaux by Dion alongside Rockman’s paintings of local ecosystems, often with cross-sectioned views. Ensuing works will address such themes as invasive and endangered species, beleaguered aquatic environments, anthropogenic landscapes, and future scenarios evincing effects of climate change and waning biodiversity.
Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld was organized by the American Federation of Arts, with support provided by Victoria E. Triplett and Elizabeth Belfer. The exhibition was curated by Suzanne Ramljak, Chief Curator at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
The Palmer Museum of Art’s presentation of the exhibition was overseen by Joyce Robinson, Interim Director, with major support provided by our exhibition co-sponsors: PSU Outreach – The Arboretum at Penn State and the Michael J. Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean’s Chair in the College of Arts and Architecture.
