Dorothea Rockburne

Leading abstract artist Dorothea Rockburne brings together the human desire for transcendence and the mathematical structures that underlie all of nature to create artwork. Drawing from an intimate knowledge of topology, astronomy, and Renaissance and Egyptian art, she has consistently pushed materials beyond their prescribed limits and invented new techniques to visualize specific objects.

Rockburne's recent paintings are composed of energetic images derived from her studies of comets, topology, planetary orbits, and other astronomical phenomena. Resulting from a unique combination of painterly tradition, emotion, and mathematics, the work embodies her search for a greater understanding of the human condition in relation to the cosmos. What manifests from this investigation are large vibrant watercolor paintings on Dura-Lar in which elliptical forms possess the magnetic quality of deep space.

AWARDS AND HONORS: Lifetime Achievement Award, National Academy Museum, 2009; Art Omi International, Francis J. Greenberger Award, 2003; Hon. DFA (Coll. for Creative Studies) 2002; National Academy of Design, Pike Award for Watercolor, 2002; Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, 2002; Member, Department of Art, American Academy of Arts and Letters, 2001; Lifetime Achievement Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1999; Avery Distinguished Professor, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, 1986; Creative Arts Award, Brandeis University, 1985; National Endowment for the Arts, 1974; Art Institute of Chicago Witowsky Painting Award, 1972; Guggenheim Fellow, 1972.