ALEXIS ROCKMAN (b. 1962, New York, NY) is a contemporary American painter known for his fantastical paintings of dystopian natural environments. Rockman tackles ecological issues—such as climate change and species extinction—through his large-scale artworks. Part-artist, part-activist, he confronts pressing social issues head on through carefully rendered paintings of animals and their rapidly changing environments. “I come from a tradition of activism,” he explains, noting his belief in “the idea that art can make a difference in terms of political change.”

Rockman’s mid-career retrospective was on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2010.

A student at the Art Student’s League and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in 1985, Rockman currently lives and works in New York, NY.