Looking Closely: Observation & Practice

Artists: David Tomb, Isabella Kirkland, Tiffany Bozic

Exhibition Dates: March 8 to April 16, 2027
Gallery Closed: March 22-26, 2027

Reception: April 8, 5-6:30 p.m. Dowd Lobby

David Tomb develops bird themes and motifs through various formats over the last twenty years. The endless complexity and biodiversity of the natural world inspire his projects, which include large-scale landscape dioramas, wall installations, collages, and oil paintings. The close-in-the-hand observations help generate the initial images for the paintings. David Tomb received a B.F.A. in Painting and Drawing in 1984 from California State University, Long Beach and currently maintains a studio in Marin County. David has exhibited widely in galleries and museums throughout the US and his work is in many public collections.

Isabella Kirkland uses the techniques developed by 17th century Dutch still life artists to make paintings that explore the environmental train wreck that is the Anthropocene. Extinct, endangered, recovering or invasive, her meticulous renderings of species are an effort to document and preserve organisms in a moment of rapid climatic and ecological change. Isabella was born in Connecticut and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 1970s. Her work is in major museum collections throughout the United States and she currently lives on a houseboat on the San Francisco Bay.

Tiffany Bozic’s work has grown from sustained observation of the ecosystems surrounding her home in Northern California. The close study of patterns and relationships that shape the lives of local species - mosses, lichens, birds, insects, fungi provide a broader exploration of relationships, perception, and the structures of the natural world. Bozic's work has been exhibited throughout the United States and is included in the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies program. It has also been featured in National Geographic's Endurance exhibition. She is the author of two monographs published by Gingko Press and the illustrator of two children's books published by Simon & Schuster. She is a longtime partner of the conservation nonprofit Art into Acres, connecting her studio practice with land protection and ecological research.

This event is free and open to the public.

In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.