Zaria Forman at Winston Wachter

Zaria Forman’s monumental polar landscapes, rendered in intricate detail in pastel, have afforded her national recognition and the chance to work with NASA as an artist.  In her latest solo show at Winston Wachter Gallery in Chelsea, Forman continues to capture the beauty of ice in renderings of an Icelandic glacial lagoon.  Fragments of ice washed ashore and resting on black volcanic sand look like jewels, while bubbles trapped in ice form a dynamic, abstract composition.  Forman’s focus is on the specifics of landscape vs the climate changes impacting it, and her work offers a moment to appreciate the sublime as it presently exists.  (On view in Chelsea through March 30th in SoHo).

Zaria Forman, Fellsfjara, Iceland, No. 5, April 22nd, 2022, soft pastel on paper, 40 x 51 1/8 inches, 2023.
Zaria Forman, (detail) Fellsfjara, Iceland, No. 5, April 22nd, 2022, soft pastel on paper, 40 x 51 1/8 inches, 2023.

Zaria Forman at Winston Wachter Fine Art

Known for large-scale majestic scenes of nature rendered in pastel on paper, Zaria Forman’s stunning new work takes her drawings to a new level.  Invited by NASA to join their regular data-collecting flights over Greenland and the Antarctic, Forman had access to the landscapes that she recreates in huge pastel drawings that demonstrate the beauty and fragility of our planet’s northern climates.  Here, a supraglacial lake is enchantingly beautiful but also a warmer spot that will contribute to this glacier’s faster melt.  (On view in Chelsea at Winston Wachter Fine Art through Dec 21st).

Zaria Forman, Supraglacial Lake (between Hiawatha and Humboldt Glaciers), Greenland, 79 degrees 6’59.05”N 65 degrees 15’54.99”W, July 19, 2017, soft pastel on paper, 60 x 81 7/8 inches, 2018.