James Prosek: FARNSWORTH MURAL PROJECT: Farnsworth Art Museum, ME

FARNSWORTH MURAL PROJECT: JAMES PROSEK
GULF OF MAINE PICTOGRAPHS NO. 1

May 17, 2025 – May 7, 2027

James Prosek (born 1975) is an artist, writer, and naturalist who works at the intersection of contemporary art, nature, and science. Since childhood, he has been fascinated with Maine and its varied species, especially the blueback trout (a relict population of Arctic Char native to only a handful of lakes in Northern Maine). This interest blossomed into larger research and artistic projects. 

For the Farnsworth’s 2025 mural project entitled Gulf of Maine Pictographs No. 1, he will study the exchange of life and biomass between the land and sea (in this case, the Gulf of Maine). The mural will transport viewers from land to sea and feature a series of large-scale silhouettes—one of his signature styles—of organisms who inhabit this region. In all his works, Prosek raises questions about the changing environment, its interconnectedness, and exchange, and how we communicate the holistic world through systems of naming and ordering.