Brooklyn-based artist Zaria Forman uses pastel colors to create hyperrealistic landscapes that document the effects of climate change. Traveling to remote regions of the world, she collects images and inspiration for her work, which is exhibited worldwide.
“I hope my drawings can facilitate a deeper understanding of the climate crisis, helping us find meaning and optimism in shifting landscapes,” she told ArtStar. “I hope they can serve as records of landscapes in flux, documenting the transition, and inspiring our global community to take action for the future.”
Her mission took her around the globe, having flown with NASA on several Operation IceBridge missions over Antarctica, Greenland, and Arctic Canada. “In all my travels I have never experienced a landscape as epic and pristine as Antarctica,” she admits. “I still haven’t found the words to properly convey the majesty and ethereal wonder of that icy continent!”
“It was fascinating to see how the ice differed from its northern counterpart,” she adds. “The biggest difference I noticed were the unbelievable shades of blues—I had no idea so many existed! In the Arctic, every now and then we came across an iceberg with a thin strip of bright sapphire ice, whereas in the Antarctic, almost all the icebergs glowed. It was as if they were lit from the inside.”
Forman’s paintings manage to capture the many shades of blue, highlighting the extraordinary beauty of the icy continent. As such, her works have appeared in publications like The New York Times, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, and the Smithsonian Magazine.
Take a look at some of her pastel landscapes in the gallery below:
