After painting the California coast almost
exclusively for the past 20 years, Wassmann is now focused
on a series of oils based upon his journey to Antarctica and
its islands. Antarctica is rarely visited. It is remote and
unforgiving but also stunningly beautiful, and changes there
may very well impact the lives of everyone on the planet.
Not only does the melting and disintegration of the ice shelves
and glaciers contribute to sea level rise but also as the
continent warms, weather and ocean currents will change.
Wassmann hopes that this new series of paintings, which
will be featured at the New York Art Expo to mark the beginning
of International Polar Year (IPY), will raise awareness
of the threat posed by these changes. Based on his photographs
taken of the Antarctic Peninsula, the paintings depict not
only the glaciers and icebergs but also the whales, penguins
and other marine life that thrive in this unique ecosystem.
