James Prosek at Work

James Prosek explores our natural world with unparalleled energy and insight as a visual artist and writer. His first three decades as a professional have given us a body of work that asks questions about the nature of illusion, the futility of naming creatures systematically, and the relationship of writing and art to the origins of markmaking.

James Prosek at Work examines these themes as seen in the more than 10 major projects that have defined the first 30 years of his career. His discerning eye and meticulous approach has created a remarkable variety of works of art: from plein air studies of the birds of Suriname to ocean fish of the Atlantic; portraits of migratory animals in the Great Plains and Rockies as well as the prairie grasses that sustain them; insightful narratives of the lifecycles defined within the changing of seasons in his native New England; near encyclopedic, world-spanning investigations of eels and trout; and fantastical creatures in taxidermy that combine realism with a witty literalism.

Artwork Caption: James Prosek. Photo by Will Kortum.