Alexis Rockman is a contemporary American painter known for his fantastical paintings of dystopian natural environments. Born on September 5, 1962, in New York, NY, 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 has explained, noting his belief in “the idea that art can make a difference in terms of political change.” A student at the Art Student’s League and the Rhode Island School of Design before earning a BFA at the School of Visual Arts in 1985, Rockman currently lives and works in New York, NY. His mid-career retrospective was on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2010.