April 13, 2024 - May 25, 2024

Timeless: Art, Science and Nature

At Archbold Biological Station

Exhibition Details

Exhibited April 13, 2024 - May 25, 2024

Archbold Biological Station

Works by scientists and artists made at Archbold include painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, music, video, and installation by Dustin Angell, Reed Bowman, Mark Deyrup, Mollie Doctrow, Michele Oka Doner, Maria Eisner, Thomas Eisner, Evelyn Gaiser, Deborah Mitchell, and Kristy Sullivan.

About the Exhibition

At Archbold Biological Station, scientists and artists work in tandem on long-term ecological and environmental studies. In the living laboratory/studio that is Archbold, they are building a picture of Florida’s ancient lands and its inhabitants over time. While science relies on facts, and art on imagination, the two approaches can merge, as this exhibition of works created at Archbold suggests. Included are images by scientists who leverage their artistic skills to further their research, and compositions by artists who access scientific knowledge in their aesthetic investigations.

Media include painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, music, video, and installation by Dustin Angell, Reed Bowman, Mark Deyrup, Mollie Doctrow, Michele Oka Doner, Maria Eisner, Thomas Eisner, Evelyn Gaiser, Deborah Mitchell, and Kristy Sullivan.

Explore the Virtual Exhibit

Behind the art

""There is art to science and science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole." - Isaac Asimov"

A haunting song for strings, based on a lake’s observed temperature data … jaunty drawings of ants crawling over an entomologist’s lab table … a photograph of an owl pellet that, split in half, reveals secrets of the predator’s life…
While science relies on facts, and art on imagination, the two creative approaches can merge, as the exhibition Timeless: Art, Science, and Nature at Archbold Biological Station suggests.

A special children’s section invites inspired young visitors to participate by creating art on-site, which will be added to works produced during Archbold’s extensive K-12 educational programming.

Scientists are increasingly interested in art as they look for ways to magnify their powers of visualization and broaden the understanding and appeal of their work to the public. Artists, on the other hand, are more than ever invested in issues that involve scientific research, especially concerning the environment, as they integrate solid knowledge into their art. Works made at Archbold by resident scientists and artists reflect its mission’s emphasis on long-term, in-depth, continuing research and educational outreach to benefit the living creatures, lands, and waters within its boundaries and beyond.

Many thanks to the Archbold faculty, staff, and artists, in particular: Hilary Swain, Director; Dustin Angell, Program Director of Education; Mark Deyrup, Emeritus Research Biologist, Entomology; Zach R. Forsburg, Engagement Manager; and Laura Reed, Executive Assistant.