Collection: Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld

Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State

August 30, 2025 - December 7, 2025

"Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld" is the first survey of work by these two renowned artists who have long explored their relationship to ecology, nature and each other across three decades of professional and personal friendship.

Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman have each achieved international prominence for their individual and distinctive art practices while their creative and intellectual paths have evolved in tandem. They met in New York in the 1980s, and — since 1991 — their shared love of natural science, history, biology and outdoor exploration has cemented their friendship, leading to periodic collaborations that include tropical expeditions to Belize and Guyana, published dialogues, a book and more.  

Today, their art collectively speaks to life amid environmental collapse. "Journey to Nature’s Underworld" follows their work from 1990 to the present day. 

The exhibition at the Palmer showcases sculptures, paintings and works on paper by Dion and Rockman as well as a major new collaborative diorama. It is organized as a journey of discovery through pressing subjects, including invasive and endangered species, toxic aquatic environments, polluted landscapes, and future scenarios depicting the effects of global warming and waning biodiversity. The imagery of the underworld referenced by the title of the exhibition is also full of themes and ideas that visitors can ponder: the realm below the Earth’s crust; the metaphor of a land of the dead; archaeological excavations; and elements of crime and wickedness. Walking through the exhibition, visitors will journey through aquatic, over- and underworld environments and reflect on deeply rooted beliefs about nature and humanity’s current course. 

Through imaginative storytelling and meticulous craftsmanship, Dion and Rockman illuminate unseen and often unsettling layers of ecology, history and human impact, drawing on their 30 years of collaboration and shared passion for the natural sciences. The artworks range from Dion’s intricate archeological collections and specimen cabinets to Rockman’s large and vivid landscape and animal paintings, each illustrating the cultural constructs and environmental challenges that shape our world.