Isabella Kirkland’s species studies

According to the NYTimes science blog Dot Earth, blogger Andrew C. Revkin examines efforts to balance human affairs with the planet�s limits. Supported in part by a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Mr. Revkin tracks news from suburbia to Siberia, and conducts an interactive exploration of trends and ideas with readers and experts. In a recent post, Revkin examines Isabella Kirkland’s Taxa series. “Isabella Kirkland, from Sausalito, Calif., has created a remarkable series of 3-by-4-foot canvases, called Taxa, on the history and future of biology. The six paintings, each of which took about a year to create, memorialize species that have vanished from the planet during the ascent of humans; those that are finding new niches as humans spread plants and animals around the globe; those collected or harvested illegally or too aggressively; American species in decline; and � most hopefully � animals and plants that were thought to be extinct, or on the brink of vanishing, but have come back. They are done in a style that might best be described as a mix of Dutch Master and ‘Where�s Waldo?’ They are full of hidden things worth looking for.” Visit Ms. Kirkland�s website, where you can zoom into the canvases to look at individual species, with a detailed key alongside. She is represented by Feature, Inc. in New York.