“Calamity” by Mary Iverson at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco

"Point of the Arches" Acrylic and Collage on Wood Panel, 9x9"

Artist Mary Iverson has a solo exhibition entitled Calamity now showing at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco. Like spiders spinning webs over their prey, meshes of shipping containers are superimposed over scenic areas in America like Mount Rainier, the Yosemite Valley and Lake Ann. The picturesque backdrops are composed from images cut from magazines, reinforcing the theme of industry over nature. Iverson’s post-apocalyptic vision of our world is glum and frightening, but the clarity with which she executes it is stunning.

The Washington state based artist says, “My current paintings combine my interest in global trade and my concerns for environmental issues. They inspire an environmental dialogue by superimposing stacks of shipping containers onto images of pristine landscapes. This juxtaposition presents a post-apocalyptic vision, suggesting a potential outcome and deleterious effects of our global economy.”

Calamity includes five large-scale oil paintings and six to ten smaller acrylic on panel works. It will showing at the Shooting Gallery through March 3, 2012.

"Mount Rainier with Containers" Oil on Canvas, 48x72"

Mount Rainier with Containers (Detail)

"Grand Canyon 2" Acrylic and Collage on Wood Panel

"Lake Ann with Containers" Oil on Canvas, 36x48"

"Lake Ann with Containers" (Detail)

*Images from the Shooting Gallery.