Melinda Bergman entices viewers into a fantastical landscape created just for SMoCA, filled with colorful constellations of artworks ranging from small porcelain figures to structures akin to molecular models and tangled roots. Bergman (who lives in Phoenix) evokes nature, kitsch and modern science simultaneously. Her meandering world at first glance may seem light-hearted. From behind this whimsical facade, Bergman asks tough questions about the psychology of contemporary life and the sorry state of the natural world. How, she asks, do we continue to live our ordinary lives in the middle of a war and in the midst of such international chaos and disorientation?

Organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Sponsored by SMoCA Salon.

Melinda Bergman, Picnic Table, 2007, egg tempera on board, 15 x 9 inches. Courtesy of the artist, Phoenix.

January 30, 2008-
April 27, 2008

Virginia Ullman Gallery, SMoCA