In this episode, Helen Molesworth calls an old friend, the painter Alexis Rockman, to try and understand the art world’s reaction to recent acts of museum vandalism perpetrated by Just Stop Oil, putting them in context with theories on environmental activism and the harsh reality of the climate crisis. 

Alexis Rockman is a painter whose realist landscapes imagine the future effects of the anthropocene on the natural world, and was one of the first artists to investigate global warming in his work.

Stay tuned for Helen’s next episode, which takes stock of the very best art exhibitions of 2022.

Mentions:

-Just Stop Oil on Instagram

-Climate Emergency Fund

-Alexis Rockman, Manifest Destiny in the Smithsonian Museum 

-Reluctant Radical by Ken Ward