Diane Burko: Extraction, Dialogue of Extremes

August 24 - October 17, 2026
RUMOCA at 301 High Street
Intersections of Art and Science: Communication and Collaboration
September 16th, 4:00 - 5:00 PM with reception to follow 

In collaboration with the Arctic Radium Isotope Observing Network (ARION) research project led by Rowan Associate Professor Dr. Lauren E. Kipp,  with Dr. Matt Charette and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Diane Burko: Extraction, A Dialogue of Extremes is the community engagement component of the National Science Foundation grant that has funded the research.

Pulling from scientific drawings and maps provided by the research team, artist Diane Burko has depicted in her paintings the chemical changes and flow of elements recorded in the Arctic. Rendered as markings and data-like graphs, these flows circulate within and around recurring spherical forms that anchor the paintings. The compositions feel distant and restrained, their cool detachment echoing the region’s vast isolation, yet they remain quietly captivating, amplifying the Arctic’s environmental extremities.

In contrast, a second body of work responds to the corporate mining industry and deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Here, the sphere reappears, interchanging perspectives by encasing sites of extraction, or amplifying the indigenous areas that have been impacted. Fragments of charred bark protrude from the surface of these paintings, focusing attention on these locations as if viewed under a microscope. Unlike the Arctic works, these paintings are intimate but foreboding and unavoidably dominant.