Micromajesty

Micromajesty: Intersections of Art and Science, runs from March 29 through April 26 at Artists and Makers Studios. All are invited to opening receptions with the artists on Friday, March 31, 5 – 9 PM and also Friday, April 7, 5 – 9 PM. In an exploration of intersections between science and art this month at Artists and Makers Studios in Rockville, MD, Ivan Amato and Michele Banks revel in the aesthetic potential of their microscopic obsessions: molecules, microbes and cells. Ivan Amato has always been smitten by the gorgeous diversity of data that scientists gather to learn about the world. Drawing upon his background in chemistry and science communication, he embraces the artform of crystal micrography. To create his pieces, Amato dissolves substances, from table sugar to prescription medicines, coaxes them to resolidify on microscope slides and then tours the slides to capture the resulting crystalline beauty. His work has been shown in DC Arts Club and appeared in literary publications and in science journals. Amato is the author of Supervision: A New View of Nature, a celebration of science imagery. He has written several other books and hundreds of articles, produced podcasts, and orchestrated science café events. His day job is as the science communications manager for the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University. Michele Banks is an artist inspired by science. Her artwork, on themes ranging from neuroscience to the microbiome to climate change, has been shown at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and at the Society for Neuroscience, as well as at many galleries and art festivals. Her paintings have been featured on the covers of journals and books and in publications including Scientific American, The Scientist and Wired. Michele’s work in this exhibition explores the idea of the vessel in semi-abstract watercolor paintings inspired by structures in plants as well as in the human body. Her paintings celebrate the tiny, crucial carriers of everything from water to blood to electrical pulses – the flow of life.