About the Artwork
North is a painting by artist Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez that depicts the desert landscape of northern Chile, her home country. The vibrant colors of the painting portray mineral-rich earth and brilliant ocean. She notes, "This is what North evokes to me: poor north, rich north, dry north, bright north, warm north, north I traveled in my youth, ever present in my memory..."
This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
About the Artist
Artist and professor Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez creates artworks that reflect her interest in the intersection between art and nature. In her own words, "I am a scientist and a visual artist, or the other way around... Both inform my work, influencing my approach. Observation, experimentation, improvisation, making comparisons, searching for patterns and answers all come together within the creative process. I also view art as a vehicle that transcends academia in communicating environmental issues to wider audiences."Born in Chile, Adlerstein-Gonzalez studied biology at the Universidad de Concepción, Chile before completing her Master of Science and PhD at the University of Washington's School of Fisheries. She is an Associate Research Scientist working in aquatic ecology for the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan.