The works on view in the following galleries visually explore human impact on the Earth, primarily through the Museum’s Altered Landscape Photography Collection, which focuses on changes in natural, built, and virtual environments. The concept of the Anthropocene relates to the indelible, colossal imprint Homo sapiens have made on the planet. It suggests we have left the Holocene and entered a new geological epoch. The term was coined by Paul Crutzen, a Nobel laureate and former director of atmospheric chemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, during an international science conference in 2000. To signal this new age, Crutzen and coauthor Christian Schwägerl wrote in 2011: “It’s a pity we’re still officially living in an age called the Holocene. The Anthropocene—human dominance of biological, chemical and geological processes on Earth—is already an undeniable reality.”

When the Anthropocene began is still an open question though—this quandary and attempt to identify its geological marker is what scientists refer to as locating the “Golden Spike.” Some say it started with the Industrial Revolution; others suggest it was the advent of nuclear energy, or even the invention of the steam engine. Whether or not the precise date can be determined is hardly the point, however. What increasingly matters is that human impact on the Earth has become so wildly out of control that it has tipped the planet’s balance past the point of its own ability to heal and regenerate, causing a sixth mass extinction. The works on view loosely divide along subthemes, which all relate to and demonstrate the behavior of this new human epoch and how it manifests in relation to the environment.

This section is part of the exhibition INTO THE TIME HORIZON.

This section showcases works that invite us to reflect on our interdependence on a multitude of animate and inanimate matter, including galaxies, insects, cephalopods, beavers, minerals, plant life, and forests. Posthuman philosophers, such as Rosi Braidotti, have been warning for decades about the perils of privileging human thought over other life forms. These theorists argue that the superimposition of reason, humanism, and the methodologies they have spawned has created the crises we struggle to overcome today, and that we have lost the capacity and ability to control their outcomes (AI, fossil fuel production, consumption, excess, waste, commerce, warfare, etc.). Instead, posthumanists propose the advancement of biodiversity, circularity, degrowth, resilience, nature, regeneration, inclusivity, and mutual coexistence. This necessarily requires displacing anthropocentrism as the ultimate paradigm against which all other concepts are weighed.

This section is a part of the exhibition INTO THE TIME HORIZON.

This section of the exhibition grounds the project and serves as the conceptual heart around which the other areas radiate. The myriad artworks on display underscore Indigenous ecological knowledge of diverse types, which have modeled care, respect, and protection of the land for millennia. Indeed, the understanding that life forms belong to and coexist with the natural world is a foundational aspect of Indigenous thought and precedes concepts of ecofeminism, environmentalism, and sustainability. Listening to and extending Indigenous ecological practice and experience is vital for the future well-being of life on Earth. As artist Rose B. Simpson has stated, “We are on a precipice right now, and everything we do will impact the land.” The exhibition endeavors to inspire audiences to envision that edge and carefully navigate away from it. Jeffrey Gibson’s mural The Land Is Speaking, Are You Listening inspires the title of this section, which features over fifty First Nations artists from Australia, the United States, and Canada.

This section is part of the exhibition INTO THE TIME HORIZON.

Strange Weather assembles works of art that represent the extreme climatic events taking place all around us. We live in a time distinguished by increasingly strange weather—a phenomenon atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe likens to “global weirding.” Similarly, environmental activist Greta Thunberg has written that “the weather seems to be on steroids, and natural disasters increasingly appear less and less natural.”

It’s hard to even quantify all the transformations we have witnessed in the last thirty years: megadroughts, melting ice caps, unabating wildfires, intense flooding, devastating hurricanes, stronger jet streams, warming oceans, heavier rainfall, dangerous bomb cyclones, rising sea levels, interminable heat waves, lethal tornadoes, and deadly storm surges. These are fueled by the greenhouse gases (such as CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide) we emit into the Earth’s atmosphere, speeding up the rate of change and amplifying the extremes.

This section is part of the exhibition INTO THE TIME HORIZON.

The Sixth Extinction identifies the precarious period we presently inhabit. Elizabeth Kolbert’s Pulitzer Prize–winning book of the same name inspires the title. In her masterful opus, Kolbert charts Earth’s previous five mass extinctions—from the Ordovician-Silurian events, occurring about 444 million years ago and resulting in the loss of around 85 percent of marine life, to the Cretaceous-Paleogene event some 66 million years ago, precipitated by an asteroid hitting the planet’s surface near present-day Mexico. Approximately 75 percent of all species on Earth became extinct. Kolbert discusses these historical episodes to emphasize that recent destruction, driven by human activity, is causing a similar loss of biodiversity. Epic shifts in the climate—whether ice ages, global warming, or severe volcanic activity—define each mass extinction. Yet, none of the previous five events occurred as fast as the one we are currently experiencing. Extinction, however, is not an endgame humans need to rehearse. The cataclysm doesn’t have to be us—there is still time to avert the sixth extinction. The time horizon, though, is narrowing.

This section is part of the exhibition INTO THE TIME HORIZON.

Rodrigo Cass (b. 1983) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in Brazilian Neo-Concrete art, a movement that began in 1959 to emphasize a greater sense of rhythm, poetry, and sensuality within the context of geometric abstraction. Working with his novel medium of concrete, which he blends with pure pigment, he applies this mixture to linen in an aesthetic exploration of line, color, shape, and perception in abstract painting. From 2000 to 2008, Cass was a monk in the Carmelite order in southeastern Brazil, a formative period that continues to influence his artistic approach. His early works emerged through video, while documenting repetitive gestures with everyday objects. These actions echo the contemplative rhythm of monastic rituals, inviting viewers into spaces of stillness, reflection, and meditative inquiry.

This presentation marks Cass’s first solo, museum exhibition in the United States. The immersive presentation integrates different geometric shapes, appearing in diverse media, to explore the interplay of color, movement, and gesture in a given spatial configuration. These elements create a sensorial experience that moves beyond representation, where aesthetic form becomes a vessel for poetic expression. The installation invites quiet contemplation on mysticism, inner life, and spatial construction.

Sponsors

Pamela Joyner and Fred Giuffrida

Established in 1931, the Nevada Museum of Art was co-founded by Dr. James Church—a pioneering climate scientist, humanist, and interdisciplinary scholar at the University of Nevada, Reno—and the Latimer Art Club, a group of dedicated landscape painters led by Lorenzo P. Latimer who sought to capture the natural beauty of the region. A decade later, the Museum gained new momentum through a generous gift from Charles Cutts, whose donation of rare books, a modest art collection, and his residence helped solidify the institution’s foundation.  Today, the Nevada Museum of Art along with its Institute for Art + Environment, continues to uphold these founding values.  By fostering meaningful engagement with art and culture and supporting interdisciplinary research and scholarship, the Museum remains a vital educational resource for all. This spotlight exhibition in the new Thomas and Pauline Tusher Library includes paintings by Lorenzo Latimer, historical photographs, and a major sculpture by Maya Lin that memorializes Mount Rose.

A new rooftop garden on the third floor of the Nevada Museum of Art showcases plants deeply connected to Native American basketry traditions of the Great Basin, honoring the enduring relationship between people, plants, and the broader environmental ecosystem of the region.

The rooftop features three distinct planting areas that are the foundation of the Thomas and Pauline Tusher Sculpture Garden, which will house an evolving collection of outdoor sculptures in the years to come.

The selected plants—which relate to the Museum’s permanent collection of Native American baskets—were chosen collaboratively by a team of Indigenous consultants. These plants are not only central to the creation of both functional and artistic baskets but also carry deep cultural meaning.

Indigenous knowledge, passed down through generations, offers invaluable wisdom about sustainable land stewardship and the responsible use of natural resources. By respecting and incorporating traditional practices, the garden exemplifies how these methods of cultivating and harvesting can play a vital role in addressing modern environmental challenges. The plantings serve as a reminder that respecting traditional ecological knowledge can provide sustainable solutions to contemporary environmental issues.

We are grateful to Melanie Smokey (Western Shoshone | Washoe), Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute), Jay Martin (Washoe | Western Shoshone), and Rhiana Jones (Akimel O’Odham | Washoe) for their collaboration.

Lead Sponsor: Henry Luce Foundation

Multi-media artist Edgar Arceneaux’s (b. 1972) artistic approach begins with three guiding principles that propel his work forward—a material investigation, a rigorous engagement with history, and his own personal connection to the given subject. A protean artist who engages many different styles and subjects, his practice encompasses drawing, painting, performance, video, sculpture, and installation.

This exhibition highlights Arceneaux’s series Skinning the Mirror, which he started in 2021. In this expansive body of work, he uses the mirror as a device to explore the formulation and fracturing of identity, specifically in relation to memory. Using found mirrors, Arceneaux separates the reflective substrate from the sheet of glass, which he then applies to a prepared canvas. The process of “skinning” a mirror becomes an exercise of control and chance, often leading to imperfections. Cracks, flaws, and small shards of glass remain on the fabric’s surface during the decoupling. The resulting works resemble traditional abstract paintings while maintaining an alluring, reflective quality. Once the separation is complete, Arceneaux places the paintings at sites tied to a historical narrative he is investigating. Over time, the atmosphere of the selected locale alters the surface of the canvas, imbuing it with the environment so that the work itself becomes a part of the history that Arceneaux is exploring.

Previously Arceneaux’s Skinning the Mirror series has reflected the changing of the seasons, riverways in the Midwest, and the often fraught and conflicting spectrum of racial, political, and cultural perspectives that transform a location into a place of interest. While in Reno, Arceneaux will investigate a new, historically significant site that inspires his work.

SPONSORS

Pamela Joyner and Fred Giuffrida

Cross disciplinary artist Thomas J Price (b. 1981) confronts preconceived attitudes towards representation and identity, foregrounding the intrinsic value of the individual and subverting structures of hierarchy. Celebrated for his large-scale figurative sculptures, Price draws our attention to the psychological embodiment of his fictional characters, highlighting nuanced understandings of social signifiers and predetermined value. Drawing from multiple sources, the works are developed through a hybrid approach of traditional sculpting and digital technologies. Price balances methods of presentation, material and scale to challenge our expectations and provide cues for deeper human connection.

The work Grounded in the Stars (2024) included in the exhibition, depicts a full-figured representation of a fictionalized Black woman dressed in leisure attire with braided locks of hair. The female subject stands on a plinth in a calm, everyday pose, which contrasts with ideals of how subjects are often glorified in monumental, sculptural form. The serene expression on her face invites guests to reexamine their own culturally coded perceptions, interrogating how we are seen, understood and valued. In extension of this exploration and Price’s wider conceptual practice, a new painting will also be included, made as part of Price’s residency at the Joyner/Giuffrida Collection. Together, the works explore themes of presence and connection.

Thomas J Price lives and works in London, UK. He studied at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. The artist will have his first solo exhibition in New York, entitled Resilience of Scale, at Hauser & Wirth in April through June this year. Concurrently, a large-scale, 12-foot bronze sculpture of Grounded in the Stars (2023) will appear in Times Square in New York City shown in tandem with the artist’s Man Series, six video animations that will be displayed on surrounding billboards as part of the Times Square Art Midnight Moment program.

Sponsors

Pamela Joyner and Fred Giuffrida