2023 GNSI Juried Members' Exhibit

GNSI'S 2023 ANNUAL MEMBERS' EXHIBITION

GNSI's Juried Members' Exhibit showcases the immense talent and mastery our members bring to science communication efforts. Last year we introduced a new category, Broader Visual SciComm to recognize works that utilize many of the same tools that traditional science illustration employ: a deep understanding of the science at hand, a keen awareness of how people process visual information, highly refined visual arts skills, and a desire to educate and inform on a particular topic.

Broader Visual SciComm allows for more concept-driven work that attempts to evoke reactions in viewers using tricks more often employed in fine art: surprise, disgust, awe, fear, and humor. Rather than being purely descriptive or educational, it is often wrapped up with a call to action or designed to elicit an emotion. Our hope is that the addition of this new category, Broader Visual SciComm, will make the exhibition more inclusive of the diverse interests and specialties of our membership.

Meet Our 2023 Jurors

Still Image, Sculpture, and Multimedia Jurors

Alex Warnick

Alex Warnick is a natural history artist based in southern Indiana. With an emphasis in ornithological illustration she partners with scientific institutions to highlight the world's bird life. Passionate about art’s ability to further science, her work relies heavily on research into historical natural history imagery as well as her own observations in nature. Her illustrations have been featured by the National Audubon society, the American Birding Association, and Birdwatcher’s Digest, as well as displayed in solo exhibitions from London and Madrid to Santo Domingo.

Her dedication to natural history has led to collaborative projects with museums and research institutions including The Lloyd Library and Museum in Cincinnati, the Indiana State Museum, and the INICIA foundation in the Dominican Republic. She is a recipient of the Donald and Virginia Eckelberry Endowment from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and was recently the inaugural artist and residence at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. After completing a book highlighting the endemic birds of Hispaniola, she is currently working on a field guide to the birds of Costa Rica. If you don't find her outside watching birds then you'll find her inside painting them.

Beth Zaiken

Beth Zaiken is a Minnesota-based professional artist specializing in interpretation and communication of natural science and historical themes for museums and educational venues, academic research and publication. She is best known as a paleoartist, particularly of Quaternary megafauna.

Beth graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. For most of the last 15 years in her role as a principal artist and lead muralist for Blue Rhino Studio, (a prominent museum fabrication company in Minneapolis), she has helped to design and create a broad range of custom 2D and 3D art for museums, zoos, and cultural centers around the world. Beth was awarded the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize in 2020, presented by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Her permanent exhibit work can be seen at such institutions as the Chicago Field Museum, Royal Alberta Museum, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Ozarks Natural History Museum, San Diego Zoo, the New York State Museum, and the Minnesota Zoo.

As a designer of coins and medals for the United States Mint, her work was recognized with an international “Gold Coin of the Year” for the United States in 2023. She takes on publication and academic projects independently, illustrating for scientific research as well as multiple books including the 2020 “Mega Rex: A T. Rex Named Scotty” by Dr. W. Scott Persons, and the 2022 pop science title “Otherlands” by Thomas Halliday. Recently her work has graced the covers of industry publications such as ‘Scientific American’ and the international scientific journal ‘Nature.’

Joris De Raedt

Joris De Raedt is a scientific illustrator and graphic designer visualising the wonders of the natural world. Translating his fascination with nature into aesthetic and functional content has always been Joris's greatest passion.

As a true believer in visual communication, he aims to connect people to our precious fauna and flora. Growing up in a family where exploring nature and observing wildlife was the focal point of every holiday, he has been sketching nature for as long as he can remember. During his master studies in graphic design, he developed his own digital drawing technique. Although working with a graphic tablet, his style pays homage to naturalists of the 19th century.

Since graduating magna cum laude at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 20212, he works full-time for magazines, books, stamps, visitor centres, nature reserves and now and then a private commission. His clients include National Geographic Magazine, Bpost, Pelckmans Publishers and the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) of Sharjah (UAE).

With his illustrations Joris aims to connect people with the natural world in order to encourage respect towards nature and to show species and ecosystems worth saving.

For frequent updates on Joris's projects, subscribe to his newsletter and follow his journey on Instagram.

Broader Visual SciComm Juror

Anna Kaye

Anna Kaye was born in Detroit, Michigan and now lives in Denver where she works in her studio creating drawings, paintings, videos, and sculptures that are inspired by the natural world. Witnessing the urban decay from de-industrialization as a child enhanced her sense of empathy, compassion, love for diversity & justice, and reverence for the natural world. She earned her B.S. in geology and fine art at Skidmore College, NY. She continued her education at Yale in painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography. She earned her M.F.A. at Washington University in St. Louis where she was awarded the Laura and William Jens Scholarship and a teaching on record position. Anna Kaye’s artwork is a part of international, private, public, corporate, and museum collections. Kaye donates a percentage of all sales annually to environmental funds. She curates large-scale exhibitions that promote social action and connectivity. She currently teaches at the Denver Art Museum.